Best of Tennessee says early voting hit 18% of target audience

The Best of Tennessee says its Tennessee primary turnout campaign drove early votes from 18% of its target audience across 15 legislative districts, or nearly one-third of all early ballots cast there between July 17 and Aug. 1. The group is trying to close Tennessee’s primary turnout gap before Election Day on Aug. 6.

Why it matters: - Tennessee primaries effectively determine 95% of state lawmakers, so primary turnout has an outsized effect on who governs the state. - The Best of Tennessee is targeting voters who usually show up in November but skip August primaries, aiming to widen participation in a low-turnout election that shapes state power. - The group says closing the gap between general-election and primary participation is a step toward a more representative government.

What happened: - The Best of Tennessee, Inc. announced early voting results from its statewide primary voter mobilization campaign on Aug. 4 in Nashville. - The campaign targeted 250,000 voters across 15 state legislative districts. - The group says 18% of the target audience voted early. - Those targeted voters accounted for nearly 1 in 3 votes cast in those districts between July 17 and Aug. 1. - Early-voting turnout among voters in the same districts who were not targeted by the campaign was 13%.

The details: - Tennessee saw 3.1 million voters in the November 2024 general election. - Only 650,000 voters participated in Tennessee’s primary elections in 2024. - The Best of Tennessee’s message is designed to boost turnout for Primary Election Day on Aug. 6. - The group says its website offers a voter guide with information on where and when to vote, who is running for office, and who can vote in primary elections. - The Best of Tennessee, Inc. is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit focused on fostering a more representative government.

Between the lines: - The turnout gap between targeted early voters and untargeted voters suggests the mobilization effort reached people who were more likely than average to participate once prompted. - Chloe Akers, CEO and founder of The Best of Tennessee, said even a small increase in primary participation can change which incentives lawmakers respond to. - The campaign is trying to influence a low-information, low-turnout stage of the election cycle where small shifts can have large downstream effects.

What's next: - The Best of Tennessee plans to continue its mobilization efforts through Election Day on Aug. 6. - The group will keep pointing voters to its guide for election logistics and primary eligibility information. - The final measure of the campaign’s impact will be whether the effort translates into higher Election Day turnout and more participation in future primaries.

The bottom line: - In Tennessee, a relatively small turnout operation can move a large share of the electorate that decides state power, and The Best of Tennessee is betting early engagement can reshape that math.