MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Central Murfreesboro has the lowest early voting turnout in Rutherford County so far, data from the Rutherford County Election Commission show as tracked by a Middle Tennessee State University data journalism professor and his students.

Only about 13% of registered voters in the two precincts that include MTSU’s campus and the Patterson Park community had cast early ballots as of Tuesday night, Oct. 22.

Only slightly more — 18% — had voted in the precinct between East Main Street and East Clark Boulevard, which includes the Murfreesboro Square and the neighborhoods around the northern ends of Highland, Academy, Spring, Church, Maple, and Walnut streets.

Most precincts in outlying areas of the county, by contrast, have seen turnout rates of between 24 and 28% of registered voters. The precinct around Lake Farm Estates and the Young Subdivision, in the Smyrna area, has the highest turnout so far at 33%.

MTSU data journalism professor Ken Blake, whose School of Journalism and Strategic Media students are tracking the turnout numbers as part of an election-focused class this semester, said the precincts with lower turnouts are the same ones typically most likely to vote Democratic.

“Most Rutherford County precincts vote heavily Republican, especially those in rural areas,” Blake said. “But a handful of precincts around MTSU’s campus and in the Smyrna and LaVergne areas either vote blue or lean that way. So far, turnout in those precincts is lagging.”

Blake noted, though, that early voting is just getting started. The pattern could change, he said.

“Also, we have no data about which candidates any of these early voters are backing,” Blake added. “High turnout in a precinct that usually votes Republican could, in fact, be driven by heavy turnout among the relatively small number of Democratic voters in that precinct. We won’t know for sure until the Election Day results come out.”

As of Tuesday night, 52,627 people had voted early in Rutherford County, or about 23% of all voters in the county who have registered for the Nov. 5 election. Precinct-level turnouts range from 13% to 33%, with a median of 24%. The precinct map and daily early voting totals both come from the Rutherford County Election Commission.

Interactive turnout map

Visit https://rpubs.com/drkblake/RuCoEVTotals to see a chart and interactive, precinct-level map of turnout rates. Both will update on the evening of each early voting day between now and Thursday, Oct. 31, the last day to vote early.

Interactive poll location map

Visit https://rpubs.com/drkblake/EVMap for an interactive map Blake and his students have made showing locations and hours of each early voting site in the county.