The City’s general election is Nov. 7 – and Mayor Madeline Rogero wants to build on last summer’s primary election momentum by continuing to increase voter engagement and turnout.

The deadline for new voters to register in time to cast a general election ballot is Monday, Oct. 9. Early voting runs from Oct. 18 to Nov. 2.

“An unprecedented 30 candidates ran for five open City Council seats, and it was exciting to see such great dialogue on the issues all summer long,” Mayor Madeline Rogero said. “Now we’re entering the second phase of this election – the 10 winners running citywide.

“Voters in the next month will select a majority of the next City Council. I ask everyone to stay engaged in the election process. Register to vote if you’re not already. Get to know the candidates. Then be sure to go vote.”

Voter turnout in the Aug. 29 primary was much improved, Rogero said, but the City can do even better in the general election.

The number of people who voted citywide in August increased by about 75 percent from the number who voted in the 2009 primary, the last time these same 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th City Council seats were on the ballot and there were no incumbents running.

Across all five of the Council districts with a primary election, the number of voters increased over the number who voted in the 2009 primary. The biggest increases were in the 4th and 6th City Council districts.

Here’s the percentage increase by district:

• 1st District – 45.5 percent
• 2nd District – 26.2 percent
• 3rd District – 49.4 percent
• 4th District – 153.8 percent
• 6th District – 152.1 percent

A total of 7,140 voters cast ballots in the 2017 primary – the most in a non-mayoral primary election since term limits took effect in 2001. Before that, you’d have to go back to 1989 to find a City primary without candidates for Mayor on the ballot in which more votes were cast.

The two candidates who netted the most votes in each Council district primary have advanced to the Nov. 7 general election. (In the 4th District, two candidates tied for second place, and City Council as directed by state law broke the tie and determined the winner.)

The general election candidates (top district vote-getter listed first) are:

1st District
Stephanie Welch
Rebecca Parr

2nd District
Andrew Roberto
Wayne Christensen

3rd District
James Edward Corcoran
Seema Singh-Perez

4th District
Lauren Rider
Harry Tindell
Amelia Parker (certified write-in candidate)

6th District
Gwen McKenzie
Jennifer Montgomery

To promote dialogue and increase turnout, Mayor Rogero last summer launched the Go Vote! Knoxville initiative. A series of meet-the-candidates public meetings were held in July – one in each Council district with a primary election. A sixth public meeting was held in the 5th District last month.

For more details about the election or to peruse a sample ballot, visit http://knoxcounty.org/election.

For links to the candidates’ websites and social media accounts on a webpage managed by the City’s Communications Department, visit www.govoteknoxville.com.