City of Murfreesboro, TN

10/14/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/14/2024 15:17

Election Administrator Alan Farley featured on “The Insider”

On Nov. 5, 2024, thousands of Rutherford County voters will head to the polls to cast ballots in the 2024 election. Election Administrator Alan Farley discusses election integrity, early voting, absentee mail-in ballots, and more on "The Insider" with host Mike Browning. Early voting begins Wednesday, Oct. 16through Thursday, Oct. 31.

Listen to "The Insider" at https://cityofmurfreesborotn.podbean.com/. The City's official podcast is also available for viewing on YouTube at https://youtu.be/tCoFRN13APQ beginning Oct. 14 at 6:30 p.m.

Alan Farleyis entering his tenth year as the certified Administrator of Elections for Rutherford County. Farley is responsible for overseeing all elections in Rutherford County and managing day-to-day operations of the Election Commission staff. In November 2023, he testified before the U.S. Senate Rules and Administration Committee as an expert witness on the topic of Ongoing Threats to Election Administration.

This edition of Insider features:

  • Farley discusses the challenge of tremendous growth in Rutherford County, requiring that his office maintains electionintegrity as new voters are added to the registration rolls, including chain of custody of the ballots, security of facilities, voting machines, and databases
  • Early "in-person voting"begins Wednesday, Oct. 16, through Thursday, Oct. 31. Any registered voter may vote early and in person at the Rutherford County Election Commission office or at satellite locations. Eighty-three percent of Rutherford County voters cast ballots early in 2020
  • The deadline to request an Absentee by-mail ballot is Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. The Absentee by-mail ballot must be signed and received by Tuesday, Nov. 5 to be counted. You must return your ballot by mail (with proper postage) in time for the Rutherford County Election Commission to receive it no later than the close of polls, 7 pm, on Election Day
  • Voters are required to show a federal or state-issued photo ID, such as a U.S. passport, Tennessee driver's license, military ID or handgun carry permit
  • Two new polling locations have been added since the 2020 election. The new locations are on Murfreesboro's growing west side. The 30 polls require more than 400 election day poll workers

Tennessee has ranked three consecutive years as the no. 1 state in the nation for election integrity, including election laws and elections. For more information on the Rutherford County Election Commission and Administration, including training to be a poll worker, visit www.ruco.voteor call 615-898-7743. 160,000 to 165,000 Rutherford County voters are expected to cast ballots in the 2024 election. Farley projects approximately 72 percent of the more than 224,000 registered voters will vote.

Polling locationsfor early voting include:

  1. Rutherford County Election Office, 1 South Public Square, Suite 103: 7 am-7 pm, M-F, 8 am-2pm Saturday
  2. Sports*Com, 2310 Memorial Blvd.: 9 am-6 pm, M-F, 8 am-2 pm Saturday
  3. Election Annex, 426 E. Vine Street: 9 am-6 pm, M-F, 8 am-2 pm Saturday
  4. Middle TN Association of Realtors, 311 Butler Dr., 9 am-6 pm, M-F, 8 am-2 pm Saturday
  5. World Outreach Church, 1921 New Salem Hwy., 9 am-6 pm, M-F, 8 am-2 pm Saturday
  6. Lane Agri Park Pavilion, 315 John R. Blvd, 9 am-6 pm, M-F, 8 am-2pm Saturday
  7. Additional satellite locations in Smyrna and LaVergne

In 2016, Farley helped spearhead legislation for Rutherford County to become a Convenient Vote Center County, allowing voters to use any polling location rather than an assigned precinct. The convenience has provided greater opportunity for voters, including those working in Nashville but residing in Rutherford County.

A post-election audit is conducted after the election to confirm balloting with a paper audit trail. The certification process matches ballot applications and ballot cast. The number of votes cast is then certified by the Rutherford County Election Commission on the third Monday after the election and submitted to the State.

This latest edition of "The Insider" is available via Podbean, Spotify, Apple Podcast and Amazon Music/Audible, iHeartRadio, Player FM and Samsung devices. Access podcasts on the City of Murfreesboro's website under Communications. Videos and Podcasts are located on the tab to the left https://cityofmurfreesborotn.podbean.com/then click the latest episode or listen to previous podcasts.

"The Insider," hosted by Mike Browning, originates from City Hall and is produced by award-winning producer Michael Nevills. Murfreesboro CityTV can be found on Comcast Channel 3 and 1094, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, YouTube, Facebook and the City website www.murfreesborotn.gov/citytv.

For City News online, visit www.Murfreesborotn.gov.