While everyone has an opinion on whether the media is biased regarding national politics, reporters strive to keep coverage of local races as balanced as possible.

Thursday marks one week to the end of early voting in the presidential general election. While turnout has slipped a bit after the weekend, it is still ahead of the early voting count at this point for the three previous elections in the cycle.

For two weeks, the state’s Emergency Management agency has been walking local leaders, including law enforcement, through such election surprises as voter intimidation, disruptions and even civil disorder in the event no one concedes in the contentious presidential race atop the ballot.

Future approvals of the country club will lie in the hands of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, which will soon welcome three new members. 

The firing was confirmed by an election commission spokesperson after state Rep. Antonio Parkinson posted about the change in personnel Sunday on social media.

The total is inexact but ahead of the pace for early voting in the last three presidential elections in Shelby County. Data includes details of who the early voters and absentee voters are and a batch of new voters registered in recent months. 

Shelby County Elections Administrator Linda Phillips, on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, says the unofficial vote count may be tallied by midnight Nov. 3. But counting absentee ballots is a complex process.

The ruling is in one of five federal court challenges to state laws governing Tennessee’s absentee ballot process underway as absentee voters are completing their ballots and mailing them back to election commissions across the state.

Welcome to the alternate universe of 2020 election year politics in Tennessee and Mississippi. With less than three weeks to go before Election Day, the races for Senate seats in both states have turned into exercises in ultra-partisan campaigning.

The reason for a canceled Lakeland Board of Commissioners meeting last week came into question over whether incumbent Wesley Wright was trying to avoid a controversial vote.

Both incumbent Portia Tate and Brad Ratliff are running for elected office for the first time. The school board race between Ratliff and Tate is the only contested race this election cycle.

Here are the basics of the absentee ballot process -- applying for a ballot and what to do when you get it. We also outline some important lessons about the process learned in the August elections.

Voters lined up before the doors opened Wednesday at 26 early-voting sites across Shelby County and kept coming through the morning. Early voting continues through Oct. 29. Election Day is Nov. 3.

Related Story: Ballot Basics: Voting Absentee and Lessons from August

The chairs of the two local parties say interest is high in the election and they anticipate a higher turnout than four years ago, starting with early voting.

Related Stories:

• Election Commission clears backlog of absentee ballot requests
• Ballot Basics: Early Voting Oct. 14-29
• Suburban down-ballot races are competitive

Six people are seeking the remaining two years of the late-Tom Allen’s term. The race on Nov. 3 will likely result in Collierville’s first runoff in 17 years.

Here is what you need to know about voting early in the presidential general election in Shelby County, from voting locations to how to know what races will be on your specific ballot.

The commission is now processing absentee applications as they come in. The deadline to request the mail-in ballots is Oct. 27.

Harold Booker and Thomas Swan are trying to bring their voices to the board and each hope to unseat incumbent Alderman John Worley, who has been in the position since 2012.

Gregory Frazier is challenging incumbent John Stamps for the Collierville Alderman Position 5 seat. 

Few House races statewide are expected to see turnover in the Nov. 3 election, but Shelby County has a handful of seats that could shift.

Alderwoman Paula Sedgwick is seeking a third consecutive term to Bartlett Board of Mayor and Aldermen. Newcomer Kevin Quinn is running his first political campaign, trying to unseat Sedgwick. 

Four candidates are on the ballot for the Position 3 seat on Collierville Schools’ board as Chairman Mark Hansen decides to not seek reelection. 

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Marquita Bradshaw is calling for a debate with Republican Bill Hagerty after their only scheduled event was canceled, saying she wants to face off, while his campaign accuses her of pulling a “political stunt.”

Jon McCreery and Brandon Musso both say they want to unify what’s broken in the city of Germantown. The two are facing off for Position 5 in the November election.

Monday afternoon is the deadline to register to vote in the presidential general election if you aren’t already registered. Here is a look at the demographics of the Shelby County voter base.