When polling stations are open, polling stations

Employee report
| Nashville Tennessee

Election Day is here!

The only statewide race on the ballot this year is a fight for the U.S. Senate, where incumbent U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, is seeking a second six-year term against Democratic Rep. Gloria Johnson. All nine seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and all 99 seats in the Tennessee House of Representatives are now up for election this year. In 2024, only even-numbered state Senate seats are up for grabs.

In Nashville, voters will decide whether to raise the sales tax by half a cent to fund Mayor Freddie O'Connell's $3.1 billion “Choose How You Move” public transit improvement plan.

Polls open at 7:00 a.m. CST and close at 7:00 p.m. CST.

Results:

Follow live updates throughout the day.

Mayor Frieddie O'Connell gives a final speech to voters this Election Day, the last chance for residents to decide whether they support a public transit referendum.

The $3.1 billion transportation plan promises to fund improvements to the city's bus system, sidewalks, traffic signals and more by increasing the sales tax by half a cent.

“I hope you consider Nashville’s two future prospects,” O’Connell said in an email newsletter.

“Fundamentally, I want more Nashvillians to have the walkable neighborhood that I grew up in and get to live in today,” O’Connell said. “I want more people to have the financial empowerment that I had as a young man, when I was able to go car-free for a while and save for a house instead of a car, just as transportation costs began to drive down housing costs for many Nashville residents And I want to get 10% of my time back with my family by having more green lights while upgrading 2/3 of our traffic lights across the county.

—Kirsten Fiscus, The Tennessean

Tennessee astronaut Barry “Butch” Wilmore was able to vote from space, where he is on an unexpectedly extended mission.

Wilmore participated in a live video chat with Tennessee Tech University students Tuesday from the International Space Station. Wilmore, a graduate of Tennessee Tech and Mt. Juliet High School, has been in space with crew member Sunita “Suni” Williams since early June.

“I actually voted early a few weeks ago, so I cast my ballot and made sure mine was counted,” Wilmore told the group at Tech.

Astronauts typically arrange an absentee ballot before going into space by filling out a federal postcard application to request an absentee ballot, like other Americans do when they are away from home, according to NASA.

However, Wilmore was in the room during the process – he printed out the federal postcard application, signed it by hand and scanned it with the tablet. Wilmore then emailed the request to the election official in his home district, a NASA representative said.

An encrypted, password-protected ballot is then sent to his secure email account in space. He filled it out and the ballot was safely returned to Earth to the county poll worker.

Wilmore has been in space since early June, when a Boeing Starliner spacecraft test mission encountered problems and forced the crew to stay for an estimated eight months. The return is now planned for February.

— Andy Humbles, The Tennessean

The voters come in large numbers.

In the first four hours since polls opened in Nashville, the numbers have surpassed those cast in the first four hours of the last presidential election, Davidson County elections director Jeff Roberts said by phone Tuesday. However, compared to 2016, the numbers are declining.

“It remains to be seen whether this will continue,” Roberts said.

Roberts said the election commission is surveying the 35 largest precincts – one in each municipal district – to determine their numbers.

As of 11 a.m., 11,091 Nashville voters had cast ballots across 35 precincts, Roberts said. In 2020, only 9,157 had cast their votes by 11 a.m., compared to 11,475 in 2016.

—Kirsten Fiscus, The Tennessean

For many Middle Tennessee students, Election Day is an opportunity to experience the democratic process up close as their parents go to vote. For others, it's simply an extra day off.

Nashville and Wilson County public schools are closed today as many of their facilities serve as polling places.

Teachers spend the day pursuing professional development while voters enter and exit the buildings.

—Kirsten Fiscus, The Tennessean

Alyssa Boyd, 20, knew she had to vote. Growing up with a mother who minored in political science in college, politics was never a topic they would shy away from in their household.

“This is a very heated situation for people competing against each other. I knew I had to do this,” Boyd said as she proudly placed her first election sticker on her T-shirt.

Both Boyd and her mother, Jacie Boyd, voted for Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee.

“I'm a big fan of her policies, especially when it comes to the child tax credit, and I really think it would be incredibly helpful to our economy,” Alyssa Boyd said. “A lot of economists have said it was a much better plan than Donald Trump’s, so that’s really cool.”

For Jacie Boyd, the problems go beyond the economy.

“When I look at the two platforms, I feel like one is more about allowing autonomy, and I'm not just talking about reproductive freedoms, while the other is very restrictive,” she said. “And I'm very afraid of Christian nationalism, and I feel like that's where the direction in this party is going.”

—Kirsten Fiscus, The Tennessean

As the sun rose in Nashville on Tuesday, Jeremiah Rice and Ja'Nel Chase were already sitting in their black camp chairs, the first two in line to vote at the Hermitage Library.

The library was one of the busiest precincts for early voting and had a line in the parking lot before 7 a.m

“I was late last time and learned from my mistake,” Rice said. “During the last presidential election, the line was wrapped around the building when I got here at 7 p.m.”

Chase, who is best friends with Rice's wife, said she missed the early voting deadline.

“I knew he would be there early, so I called and said, 'See you there,'” she said. Rice didn't think it was ridiculous to show up more than an hour before the polls opened when one's civic duty is at stake.

“There are other countries where people cannot vote. People of different races and genders,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who you vote for, people died so we could exercise our right to vote.”

—Kirsten Fiscus, The Tennessean

In Davidson, Rutherford, Williamson and Montgomery counties, polls open at 7 a.m., while in some counties they open at 8 or 9 a.m

WeGo travels for free on election day

All Election Day rides on WeGo buses in Davidson County will be free, Mayor Freddie O'Connell said in a news release. The transit app will provide available directions to polling stations on Tuesday.

Help curb election fraud

Voters can reach the Election Day hotline at 1-877-850-4959. Those who witness voter fraud are asked to text TN 45995.

“Tennesseans should know that their elections remain secure,” Secretary of State Tre Hargett said in a statement Monday. “These numbers provide election officials with easy and direct access so voters can have confidence when casting their ballot, knowing that every potential issue will be addressed.”

Will mail be delivered on Election Day?

Postmen and other parcel services deliver on election day. The USPS expects a surge in mail deliveries on Election Day as it prepares to deliver ballots.

What is my polling station?

Voters must vote in their assigned precinct on Election Day.

Davidson County residents can use the County Polling Place Finder to locate their assigned polling place. Voters can also look up their voting location on the Tennessee Secretary of State website.

What do I need to bring with me to vote? What forms of ID are acceptable?

Voters must present ID with their name and photo to cast their vote. An example of this is a Tennessee driver's license. The following IDs are also acceptable, even if they have expired:

A US passport
A photo ID issued by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security
A photo ID issued by the federal or state government of Tennessee
A U.S. military photo ID
A Tennessee permit to carry a handgun with your photo

I forgot my ID. Can I still vote?

Yes. In the event that a voter is unable to provide acceptable identification, the voter will be issued a provisional ballot.

The voter then has two business days after Election Day to return to the Election Commission office and show a valid photo ID. According to the Tennessee Secretary of State, upon returning to the Board of Elections office, the voter will sign an affidavit and take a copy of the voter's photo ID for verification by the Counting Board.

Is it too late to register to vote in Tennessee?

Yes, Tennessee does not offer same-day voter registration. The last day to register to vote in Tennessee was October 7th.

WeGo travels for free on election day

Help curb election fraud

Will mail be delivered on Election Day?

What is my polling station?

What do I need to bring with me to vote? What forms of ID are acceptable?

I forgot my ID. Can I still vote?

Is it too late to register to vote in Tennessee?

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