
Former state Rep. JoAnne Favors on Wednesday became the first person to cast a ballot in the 2024 presidential election in Hamilton County.
“I wanted to come so I could hurry up and get it done so I could continue to talk to people,” Favors said in an interview. “I’ve been making a lot of telephone calls and talking to people on email from all over the country.”
Early voting in Tennessee began at 8 a.m. Wednesday, and voters flocked to the Hamilton County Election Commission waiting for the doors to open, many bundled up for the sub-40-degree weather.
Favors, 82, was born and raised in Alton Park, a neighborhood in South Chattanooga. She is a retired nurse and former health facilities administrator, former Hamilton County commissioner and served in the Tennessee House of Representatives as a Democrat from her election in 2004 until 2018.