Next year is going to be a busy year for elections. Several major political contests are scheduled with the biggest races being the federal election for president in November in addition to U.S. and Tennessee senate and representative races. There are not as many local races this year in Warren County, but the two most important would be property assessor and some school board positions.

According to Susie Davenport, Warren County Administrator of Elections, the qualifying deadline is fast-approaching for Warren County Property Assessor office, Dec.14 at noon to be exact. This is for prospective candidates running as a Democrat or Independent.

The Warren County Republican Party has already chosen its nominee for County Property Assessor, Jeff T. McGee. The party chose McGee via its first county-wide caucus this November at the Milner Recreational Center.

Warren County’s current property assessor is Beth Martin. She plans to run for re-election as an independent this year.  Martin’s decision to run as an independent is a direct result of increasing partisan politics.

“My first campaign for the office started in 2012 when the previous assessor, Carolyn Miller, decided to retire. I had been working for Carolyn for six years and decided that I would take a chance and run for the office. I knew that the tasks of the office would definitely need someone with experience, so that is why I threw my hat in the ring,” explained Martin, remembering how she first decided to run for office. 

“In making the decision to run under a political party or as an independent at that time, practically every office, as well as commissioners, were held by Democrats. Jeff McGee and I, along with nine other candidates, ran as Democrats in the 2012 primary. I won that primary and continued on to win the general election.” In 2016, she ran unopposed.

In the 2020 election, she and McGee both ran again for the office. Martin won by 600-700 votes. This will be Martin’s fourth term if re-elected. In 2019, Martin was awarded the Three Star Certification before the Tennessee Association of Assessing Officers. 

“I feel that your political stance should not have an effect on how the assessor’s office, or any other local office for that matter, is run,” said Martin. She feels the increasing pressure to choose a party affiliation is unwarranted.

“The assessor of property is elected to assess all property in the county, fairly and equitably,” Martin said. This, she claims, is her focus, not her political allegiance. Therefore, she will run as an independent in next year’s race.

Warren County will be holding three distinct elections in 2024, according to Davenport. These will be March 5, Aug. 1 and Nov. 5

On March 5, both the Republican and Democratic Presidential Preference Primary along with the Warren County Democratic Primary will be held. The deadline to register to vote in those elections is Feb. 5. Early voting will take place between Feb. 14 and 27 in the Early Voting Room at the Warren County Administrative Building and Feb. 21 - 27 at both the Morrison and Centertown satellite locations.     

On Aug. 1 there will be primary elections for U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives Districts 4 and 6, Tennessee Senate 16 District and Tennessee House of Representatives District 47. General elections will be held for any vacant state judicial offices and applicable county offices -- property assessor and school board districts 2, 4 and 6. The qualifying period to run for those offices is Feb. 5 through April 4 at noon. Registration deadline for the Aug. 1 election is July 2. Early voting will take place from July 12 - 27 in the Early Voting Room at the back of the County Administrative Building and July 22 - 27 at both the Morrison and Centertown satellite locations.    

On Nov. 5 there will be a general election held for all candidates (including independents) for U.S. President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives Districts 4 and 6, Tennessee Senate 16th District and Tennessee House of Representatives 47th District.  McMinnville, Morrison, Centertown and Viola will have municipal elections. Candidates for those municipal elections will qualify by petition during the June 20 - Aug. 18 at noon qualifying period. Early voting will take place between Oct. 16 - 31 in the Early Voting Room at the back of the County Admin-istrative Building and Oct. 25 - 31 at both the Morrison and Centertown satellite locations. 

There are currently 23,330 active registered voters in Warren County. For those interested in adding to this number, the deadline to register to vote is Feb. 5. In Tennessee, you do not have to declare a party preference to register to vote.