By Angela Hatton
Nashville, TN – Tennessee has broken an early voting record with more than 543,000 people casting ballots before the Thursday primary. With all 95 counties reporting, Secretary of State Tre Hargett says the number is more than the August 2006 elections, the last contested statewide Republican primary. Hargett attributes the high turnout to three open congressional seats and a highly contested gubernatorial primary. The early voting period was July 16 through the 31.