Tennessee may not be a “non-voting state”
Second article in the numbers series
by Brandon Burley and The Redemption Project
Tennessee is often described as a state that does not vote.
That description is not baseless. Turnout in many elections is low. In some local races, participation can be shockingly small. Trousdale County reported 78 voters. Giles County reported 281. Benton County reported 407.
But that is not the whole story.
Unicoi County reported nearly 30% turnout. Cocke County reported more than 26%. Wayne County reported nearly 25%. Marion County reported 22%. Carter County reported more than 20%.
So the better question may not be, “Why don’t Tennesseans vote?”
It may be, “Why do some Tennessee communities vote while others barely participate at all?”
That question changes everything.
If the problem is only apathy, the solution is simple. Tell people to vote. Remind them of their civic duty. Push harder before Election Day.
But if the problem is structural, the answer is harder. Then we have to ask whether voters are being offered meaningful choices, whether local races are visible enough to understand, whether communities are still producing candidates and whether voters believe their participation can change anything.
That is what this county-by-county project is beginning to uncover.
After reviewing election information from more than 50 Tennessee counties, representing more than 2 million registered voters and more than 360,000 ballots cast, one pattern keeps appearing: turnout is not uniform because local democracy is not uniform.
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