A Voter's Guide to the 2016 Knox County Primary Elections

Early voting for the upcoming primaries kicked off this week, on Feb. 10, and will run through Feb. 23. The general elections are still months away, but the first real electoral test comes March 1, when folks across the nation and here in Knox County will take to the primary polls to narrow the field of state and national candidates, and presidential hopefuls.

While there are high-profile national races grabbing headlines, a number of key local slots are also up for grabs, some of which may be definitely voted on during the primary cycle well ahead of general elections on Aug. 4. So here’s the rundown: which elections could be decided in March, what do all these would-be Knox County officials stand for, and what you need to know before taking to the polls.

Ultimately, voters will decide on filling seven positions on County Commission, electing a new Knox County law director and property assessor, and seating four on the Board of Education. All of these races except the BOE are partisan, which means candidates declare a political party and the top vote-getter from each (Republican, Democratic, and Independent) advances toward a final vote in the general elections. However, only Republicans are vying to fill openings as law director and property assessor, so whoever takes the primary in each race will be a shoo-in for the nomination (barring an unforeseen write-in upset that likely will never happen).

With the BOE, things work a little differently. It is run as a non-partisan race, and that affects how the primaries play out. The top two candidates with the most votes move on to face off in the general elections unless one of them pulls more than 50 percent of the vote during primaries, in which case he or she wins the seat outright.