The Smithville mayor’s race will most likely be contested this year, as present 7th District County Commissioner Jimmy Poss has picked up a qualifying petition for the office.Former city policeman Scott Davis has picked up a petition to run for alderman in the June 19 city election as well.The qualifying deadline for the city race, in which the mayor’s seat and two aldermen positions are up for grabs, is noon, March 15.In Dowelltown city election news, current mayor Gerald Bailiff and incumbent alderman Joe Bogle have also picked up petitions to qualify for re-election.The mayor’s office and two aldermen’s seats will be decided in the election, to be held on Aug. 2.In addition to Bailiff and Bogle, alderman Elizabeth Redmon’s seat will be up for re-election as well.The qualifying deadline for the Dowelltown Municipal Election is noon, April 5. Meanwhile, the upcoming March 6 DeKalb County Demo-cratic Primary and Tennessee Presidential Preference Primaries will see early voting begin on Feb. 15 in the basement of the courthouse, and will end on Feb. 28.According to DeKalb County Election Commissioner Dennis Stanley, early voting hours will be from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m on Thursdays, and Saturdays from 9 a.m. until noon, except for President’s Day, Feb. 20, when the courthouse will be closed.Stanley also said that the last day to request an absentee ballot is Feb. 28.Polls in DeKalb County will open at 8 a.m. for the primaries on March 6, and will close at 7 p.m. that evening.Voters must declare which primary they intend to participate in.Ballots may be cast in either the Republican or Democratic Presidential Preference Primary, but not both.Voters who choose to cast ballots in the Republican primary will not be able to vote in the local Democratic Primary.Voters who choose to vote in the Democratic Presidential Preference Primary and the DeKalb County Democratic Primary are not eligible to vote in the Republican Presidential Preference Primary.The Republican Presidential Preference Primary in Tennessee will list Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum, Michele Bachman, Rick Perry, Jon Huntsman, Gary Johnson and Charles "Buddy" Roemer.The Republican ballot will also list the names of Delegates At Large for presidential candidates Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, and Mitt Romney (Committed and Uncommitted) as well as Delegates in the 6th Congressional District for Gingrich, Paul, Perry, and Romney (Committed and Uncommitted).President Barack Obama will be the sole candidate in the Democratic primary.The local Democratic primary ballot features the Assessor of Property and constable races.The property assessor candidates are Timothy "Fud" Banks, Scott E. Cantrell and Bryan Keith.Wayne Vanderpool will be listed as the only constable candidate in the 3rd District, Paul Cantrell in the 4th District, Mark Milam in the 5th District, both Richard Bullard and Carl Lee Webb in the 6th District, and Johnny King in the 7th District.Voters will be required to produce a federal or state government-issued photo ID at the polls.A Tennessee driver license, U.S. passport, Department of Safety photo ID card, state or federal employee photo identification card, or a U.S. military photo ID cards will be accepted, even if expired.College student IDs will not be accepted.Any voter who does not have a photo ID may obtain one at no charge from any Department of Safety driver license testing station.Registered voters must sign an affidavit stating that the photo ID is for voting purposes, that they are a registered voter, and that they do not have any other other valid government-issued photo ID.The Department of Safety will not issue a free photo ID if the person already has a valid government-issued photo ID.Voters who cannot present a valid photo ID will be allowed to vote a provisional ballot, which is a paper ballot, at the polls. Voters casting a provisional ballot will have until two business days after Election Day to return to the election commission office to show a valid photo ID.Voters with a religious objection to being photographed, or voters who are indigent and unable to obtain a photo ID without paying a fee - for example, the voter cannot pay for a birth certificate for proof of citizenship - may sign an oath affirming to the information and will be allowed to vote on the machines.Voters who vote absentee by mail, voters who are hospitalized, and voters who live in licensed nursing homes or assisted living centers and vote at the facilities are not required to show photo IDs.Registered voters over the age of 65 may request an absentee ballot and vote by mail.