Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Tea Party Patriots Action, Honorary Chairman, Jenny Beth Martin to the newsmaker line to comment upon the Georgia senate runoff election and the importance for Republicans to get out the vote.
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Two days before Brian Kemp bested Stacey Abrams by more than seven percentage points in their closely watched rematch, the Georgia governor did something unusual for a Republican candidate in the 2022 midterms: He expressed confidence about where he stood and cited early voting as a top reason.
“We’ve also had record turnout for early voting, which ended this Friday. It’s been an incredible turnout, and we feel good about things,” Kemp told Trey Gowdy, the former congressman and host of Fox News’ “Sunday Night in America.”
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Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia, along with party allies, have sued the state to allow for an extra day of early voting before the U.S. Senate runoff election on Dec. 6.
Warnock, joined by the Democratic Party of Georgia and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, has filed a complaint for an injunction in the Fulton County Superior Court, seeking to force Georgia to allow early voting on Saturday, Nov. 26. Early voting in the race is scheduled to begin on Monday, Nov. 28 and run until Friday, Nov. 29, the mandatory five days required by state law.
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Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont (D) announced a ballot measure for a constitutional amendment to allow in-person early voting in the state had been passed by voters, Hearst media reported Wednesday.
Lamont “said the question had been passed by voters as he began his speech Tuesday night in which he declared victory in his own race,” the report said.
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While early voting is up nationally, it was down in Tennessee this midterm season compared to 2018.
After early voting, there were 882,310 votes cast in Tennessee. In 2018, that total was 1,378,840 while it was 629,485 in 2014.
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In the first eight days of early and absentee voting for the general election, a total of 423,220 Tennesseans cast their vote according to data released by the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office.
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With a little over a week until Election Day, 589,627 voters had voted early as of October 29 in Virginia’s ongoing election, according to a graphic from The Virginia Public Access Project. That’s down from 2021, which saw over one million votes by election day, but which also had statewide elections and house races. In Virginia this year, only VA-02, VA-07, and VA-10 are competitive; the other congressional races are safe Republican or Democrat.
That’s not quite reflected in VPAP’s breakdown of early votes by district. VA-01 has the most early votes with 74,377, followed by VA-02 with 64,338, VA-05 with 59,987, VA-10 with 58,793, and VA-07 with 57,931.
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Early and absentee voting data for the first four days in Tennessee and the federal general election has been released by the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office. In the first four days of early and absentee voting, 178,182 Tennesseans cast their vote, according to the data.
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More Ohioans have requested absentee ballots and voted early in-person as of the close of business Tuesday than at the same point in the state’s 2018 gubernatorial election, Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced.
“While not a significant increase over the same point in the 2018 election, Ohioans are showing confidence in Ohio’s abundant early voting opportunities,” said LaRose. “Our bipartisan boards of elections have done an incredible job making their early voting centers ready, and lines are short for anyone who wants to make sure their voice is heard.” While combined the number of ballot requests and in-person early voting totals pass the 2018 total 21 days before the election, the jump comes from in-person early voting.
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Georgia saw a record number of voters turn out for a midterm election, state officials said.
As of Tuesday, 143,077 voters have cast ballots in Georgia — 131,318 voted early in person, while 11,759 voted via an absentee ballot. The number of in-person voters is an 85% increase from the 70,849 voters who cast ballots in person on the first day of early voting in the 2018 midterm election.
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Floridians living in three counties most impacted by Hurricane Ian – Charlotte, Lee, and Sarasota – will have more time to vote early and in more locations.
Early voting may begin for residents of these three counties as early as Oct. 24, according to a new executive order signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
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Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer shared Monday that voters should be ready for Democrats to initially lead on the night of November 8th as early votes are counted first.
“The results released at 8:00 PM on Election Night will be comprised of early ballots we receive by the weekend before Election Day,” tweeted Richer. “First moral of the story: In Arizona, Initial results will likely be much bluer than eventual final results. Second moral: if you want your ballot to be part of results released AT 8:00 PM on Election Night, return it before the weekend before Election Day.”
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Clint Brewer in studio to discuss the TN5 congressional race and money spent in the Williamson County senate race by Gary Humble and incumbent Jack Johnson.
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Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed District 4 School Board Candidate Kelli Phillips in-studio to talk about door knocking, early voting, the upcoming August 4th general elections, and issue with her opponent.
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Arizona State Senator J.D. Mesnard (R-Chandler) spoke with The Arizona Sun Times about the effect SB 1632 – a newly-signed bill he sponsored – may have on the perception of mail-in voting. The measure aims to provide onsite tabulation for early ballots.
“I think the issues, the oppositions, the concerns surrounding mail-in ballots are wide and vast and that this [law] may help mitigate some of it, but those issues are much more fundamental.
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A record number of Georgians continue to cast ballots in the state’s 2022 primary election during the early voting period.
Through Wednesday, May 11, during the second week of early voting for Georgia’s 2022 primary election, nearly 270,000 Georgians cast early votes. The numbers are a 159% increase from the primary in 2020 and a 235% increase from 2018.
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Just months after Georgia’s Secretary of State announced that the state’s voter registration management system would be changed, one county is reporting issues as early voting for the May 24 primary elections begins.
“Unfortunately, the 2022 Primary Advance Voting began with multiple issues at polling locations throughout Cobb County,” the Cobb County Republican Party said in a May 5 statement. “Since the polls opened on Monday, May 2, 2022, problems have included poll pad voter data being missing and incorrect information on certain ballots; some ballots excluded a State Representative race and some ballots excluded the Cityhood referendums. Since our vote is anonymous, once a ballot is cast there is no way to rectify an issue.”
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Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) released a report this week on elections in his state—focusing especially on Maricopa County—advocating similar election reforms to those Pennsylvania Republican lawmakers currently seek.
While the report did not make criminal allegations regarding recent elections, it did declare that Arizona’s election system suffers from major procedural vulnerabilities including insufficient time to confirm signatures on ballots submitted during early voting and problems with the chain of custody for ballots placed in drop boxes. Altogether, the attorney general estimates that between 100,000 and 200,000 early ballots were transported without proper protocol being followed.
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Democratic candidates Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will visit Georgia to support the Senate election runoff candidates, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, next week.
Biden and Harris will arrive in the days preceding the runoff elections, according to a press release from their team. Harris will precede Biden by a day, showing up to Savannah on Sunday. Biden will arrive on Monday in Atlanta.
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The 2020 election outcomes revealed a telling political trajectory occurring in Virginia and the nation. Final tallies indicated that Republicans’ future chances of winning in the state may be ever-slimming. A consistent theme across the board – Republicans fell short with the unprecedented number of absentee voters.
Although Republicans increased their presidential vote totals from 2016 by about 185,000, Democrats increased their votes by nearly 400,000. In every election since 2008, Democratic candidates had only enjoyed about a 10,000 vote increase per year.
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Roughly 100 million early votes already were cast before the first polls opened Tuesday morning, Michael McDonald, professor at the University of Florida, says. He runs the Election Project, which tracks polling and election data by state.
“These reports will include early voting activity from the proceeding day,” McDonald said in the latest analysis published Nov. 1. “It is also likely reports by Tuesday morning will fail to capture all of the pre-election voting activity since there are sporadic reports of election officials experiencing delays in processing the unprecedented number of mail ballots.”
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Over 50 million Americans have voted early with 11 days remaining until Election Day, far surpassing the 47 million early ballots cast in 2016.
While nearly every state has begun early voting, Texas, California and Florida lead the way, with 6.3 million, 5.8 million and 4.2 million ballots cast in each state, according to the U.S. Elections Project.
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Tennessee first-time voters will not have to vote in person this year due to the coronavirus, according to Fox News.
Instead of voting in person, these new voters will have access to absentee ballot options. The deadline for obtaining an absentee ballot is October 27.
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A total of 273,325 in-person and absentee votes have been cast by Tennesseans – a 91% increase in voter turnout over the first day of early voting in the 2016 presidential election and a 120% increase in turnout over the first day of early voting in 2012.
More than 167,000 Tennesseans cast ballots in-person Wednesday on the first day of early voting this week, and more than 105,500 absentee ballots already have been cast, according to data released Thursday by Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett.
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With Tuesday’s voter registration deadline having now passed, the Commonwealth is entering the final stretches before the general elections in November and Virginians have been feverishly casting their votes with nearly 1 million in-person and absentee ballots already submitted.
Specifically, 532,983 in-person votes and 444,390 votes by mail have already been cast in the state with an additional 642,687 absentee ballot applications that have not yet been returned to general registrars, according to the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP) early voting dashboard.
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Elections officials report that Virginia’s critical election system is malfunctioning during early voting, and worry it could fail on or before Election Day.
This isn’t the first time the Virginia Election and Registration Information System (VERIS) has presented issues. A 2018 report recommended the legislature replace VERIS. Specifically, the report stated that the system couldn’t be relied upon for elections.
President Donald Trump announced his intentions to visit Virginia after denouncing Governor Ralph Northam and endorsing congressional candidate Bob Good.
Trump tweeted his remarks on the first day of Virginia’s early voting and submission of absentee ballots, September 18.
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It looked like the release of a new iPhone. Across Virginia, hundreds of people lined up outside polling places on the first day of early voting on Friday. The Virginia Public Access Project is reporting that already, over 600,000 more Virginians have requested mail-in ballots than in 2016. However, political pundits warn that large increases in early voting might not affect final results that much.
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State Rep. Robin Smith’s name was left off ballots in the first hour on the first day of early voting in one Chattanooga precinct.
On Friday, a voter called Smith to tell the Republican that her name was missing from the ballot for the 26th District, WRCB reported. This happened in Chattanooga’s Northgate 2 precinct. This impacted 10 early voters and 18 absentee ballots.
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As part of “Super Tuesday,” Tennessee will begin early voting Wednesday, February 12 in the 2020 presidential preference primary. Super Tuesday refers to the single day that the highest number of U.S. states and territories hold a presidential primary or caucus during a presidential election year. In the 2020 presidential election year, Super Tuesday will be held on March 3. In Tennessee, early voting starts this Wednesday and runs through Tuesday, February 25. Tennessee joins 14 other jurisdictions holding a primary event on Super Tuesday, according to Ballotpedia, including Alabama, America Samoa, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia. With California and Texas – the two most populous states – holding their primaries on Super Tuesday, more than one third of the U.S. population is expected to vote on March 3, Ballotpedia predicts. In a December 19, 2019, letter to county election commission offices, Secretary of State Tre Hargett certified the presidential candidates on the presidential preference primary ballot. The Republican primary ballot will include presidential candidates: Donald J. Trump Joe Walsh Bill Weld The Democratic primary ballot includes 15 presidential candidates: Michael Bennet Joseph R. Biden Michael R. Bloomberg Cory Booker…
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Minnesota voters began casting their votes early Friday in the state’s first presidential primary since 1992.
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During a discussion Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Gill and Leahy spoke to Metro Council at large candidate, Adam Dread about low early voter turnout and scooter safety and how it ties into the public’s concerns.
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On the first day of early voting Wednesday, Phil Bredesen and Marsha Blackburn rallied voters in Middle Tennessee. U.S. Representative Blackburn (R-TN-07) met with about 150 supporters inside a community center in Franklin, The Tennessean said. Democratic former Governor Phil Bredesen held a lunch rally before a similarly sized crowd at the music venue 3rd and Lindsley near downtown Nashville. Blackburn and Bredesen are running for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Senator Bob Corker (R-TN). Early voting will be open until Nov. 1. The general election is Nov. 6. Republicans are urging voters to consider the candidates’ stances when heading to polling locations. Garren Shipley, communications director for the Republican National Committee, said, “If you think Tennesseans shouldn’t have Second Amendment rights, if you want to give back your tax cuts, or if you think there’s not enough resistance to President Trump in Washington, then be sure to get out there and vote early for Phil Bredesen. Otherwise, we’d suggest you go vote as soon as possible for Marsha Blackburn.” Last week Bredesen attended a fundraiser in New York City at the home of former New York City Mayor and potential 2020 presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg, The Tennessee Star…
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The early voting period for the August 2 Primary and Local General Elections ended Saturday with voter turnout continuing on a record pace across the state. The Tennessee Star will have more detailed analysis of the statewide and key county turnout figures next week once the Secretary of State posts the complete totals. However, a review of the final totals from the Williamson County Elections Administrator shows dramatic increases in voter participation from 2014 in both the Republican and Democratic Party primaries. In Williamson County, 20,884 total votes were cast during Early Voting, representing turnout of approximately 13.9% of total registered voters. In 2014, there were 11,757 total primary votes, a turnout of 8.6%. Of those votes, 14,861 were in the Republican primary. 5,953 were cast in the Democratic Primary. The Democratic primary total is a 400% increase over the primary votes cast in 2014. Nevertheless, GOP votes still exceeded Democrat votes by over a 2 to 1 margin. Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill says the significant increase in early votes among both Democrats and Republicans indicates that the Fall election will be more hotly contested than races in recent years. “Assuming we see the early voting numbers double…
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On Wednesday’s Gill Report – broadcast live on WETR 92.3 FM in Knoxville – Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill discussed the early voting trends and the possibility of a new early voting record that could be set across the state of Tennessee. Gill said, “As voters have headed to the poll over the last about a half week, early voting started on Friday across the state. It continued for a half-day on Saturday in most locations, a lot of counties across the state are still limiting the early voting to having to go to one location in the county – and it’s not really that convenient in a lot of counties.” He continued: And yet we’re seeing very heavy turnout with early voting already to date. As we look again with the numbers through the 17th which would be yesterday. Basically, the secretary of state’s office puts the numbers out each date to kind of give us guidance into what the numbers are and where they are headed. Well as of through yesterday, there were 93,961 republicans who had voted early. 41,182 Democrats across the state. So, you are still seeing about a 35% Democrat, 60%-65% Republican vote across the…
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FRANKLIN, Tennessee–A total of 911 ballots were cast on the first day of primary early voting in Williamson County on Friday, a 73 percent increase from the 526 ballots that were cast in the county on the first day of early voting in the August 2014 primary. The Brentwood HomePage provided these details: There are only two locations open for early voting in the county—the Election Commission’s office in Franklin and the Brentwood Library. At the library 340 people voted, while 505 people voted at the office in Franklin. After adding in votes from absentee ballots and nursing homes, there were 911 people voted Friday. . . Republicans made up the vast majority of voters. The Williamson County Commission reports that 606 people voted in the Republican primary while 297 voted in the Democratic primary. Eight people voted only in the general election. Supporters of several candidates, including State Senator Dr. Mark Green (R-Clarksville) , Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) , and Jeff Ford, stood under a tent just beyond the 100 foot boundary with signs for their candidate of choice at the Williamson County Administrative Building in Franklin. Green is running unchallenged in the Republican primary to replace Blackburn as…
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Voters hit the polls heavily in the first two days of early voting in Maury County. The polls opened Friday at the Maury County Election Commission for early voting in the 2018 Tennessee general and primary election, The Daily Herald reported. On Friday and Saturday, at least 1,100 votes were cast even as Maury County candidates lined both shoulders of the road leading to the polling location. Maury County has 43,000 registered voters. Normally, about 30 percent of voters cast ballots early. During early voting in the 2016 presidential election, which included local races, more than 3,200 residents participated in early voting. The Tennessee Secretary of State’s office, which oversees elections, lists the advantages of early voting on its website: “being able to choose a day during the early voting period that best fits the voter’s schedule and the voter being able to change his or her address of registration and vote in the same voting location.” Each county’s election commission office may be found online here. Early voting will be from July 13-28. In Maury County, early voting will be held at the county’s election commission office at 1207A Tradewinds Drive in Columbia. The Secretary of State’s office also…
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In the first two days of early voting there are signs that turnout may be higher than normal in both the Democratic and Republican primaries. Early voting started on Friday and continued on Saturday, though the locations and schedule for the Saturday voting was limited in several counties. Additionally, some counties have only reported their Friday totals at this point. Nevertheless, 30,262 votes have already been cast in the Republican Primary and 12,205 in the Democratic Primary. Early voting continues until July 28 with Election Day on August 2. There were 668,039 total GOP Senate Primary votes cast in August 2014. That election featured a contested primary between Senator Lamar Alexander (331,705 votes) and Joe Carr (271,324). Alexander prevailed by a closer than expected 49-40% margin. A third Republican, Dr. George Flinn received a little over 34,000 total votes. That race may give guidance in predicting final turnout as we move through the early voting period. Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill expects the turnout to increase dramatically over the next few weeks. “Not only do we have a hotly contested Republican Primary for Governor, in which we will see perhaps $10 million in spending in the next few weeks…
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State Representative Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma) earned another top-tier endorsement, this time from the National Rifle Association, in his campaign to win the Republican nomination in the Sixth Congressional District. Matheny faces former Judge Robert Corlew and businessman John Rose in the August 2 primary for the GOP nomination. The winner of that primary will be the favorite to win the general election contest to replace Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-06), who is running for governor. “Thank you to the NRA for all they do to preserve our Second Amendment and for recognizing my unwavering support for the same. I have never and will never compromise on our Constitutional rights. I am a known and proven quantity – by far the best man for the job!” Matheny said in a statement released by his campaign on Friday. The campaign notes the welcome endorsement comes “in the wake of his educational 10th Annual Machine Gun Shoot held for the public, law enforcement, military, and the General Assembly.” Matheny, the statement added, “is known for his steadfast conservative voting record in the state house, and says that every decision he makes is viewed through the lens of his core principles of protecting life, the…
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Voting in the 2018 Republican and Democrat primary elections begins today after candidates for statewide and local office have spent record amounts. So far, the four major candidates for the Republican gubernatorial nomination–Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-06), Knoxville businessman Randy Boyd, Tennessee Speaker of the House Beth Harwell, and Williamson County businessman Bill Lee–have spent more than $37 million in a campaign that began one year and four months ago when Boyd became the first to announce his candidacy. In the two weeks and six days between now and election day on August 2, the four Republican gubernatorial candidates are expected to spend another $10 to $15 million. The early voting period begins today, July 13, and continues for 15 days until Saturday, July 28. “Before a single ballot is cast in early voting, which begins Friday, the contest to succeed a term-limited Gov. Bill Haslam is already the most expensive gubernatorial contest in state history,” as the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported: Contributions received in the gubernatorial by the four major Republican and two Democratic candidates is a shade over $51 million, according to second quarter campaign disclosures filed Tuesday with the state’s Registry of Election Finance.Of that amount, some $35 million comes…
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Residents of Nashville/Davidson County surprised the local punditry on Saturday when 7,818 voters cast their ballots Saturday on the last day of early voting in the May 24 special mayoral election. The new single day record for the 14 day early voting period brought the total early voting turnout to 34,576, more than half the 59,000 who early voted in the May 1 transit plan referendum election. There may be more surprises in store on election day this Thursday in this unusual race. Here’s why: 57 percent of all the early votes cast–or 19,666 out of 34,576–were cast over the last three days. This is a dramatic change in voting behavior compared to early voting for the May 1 transit plan referendum, when 37 percent of the 59,000 early votes were cast. You can see the break down by day and voting location below in data provided to The Tennessee Star by the Davidson County Election Commission: [pdf-embedder url=”https://tennesseestar.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/519-EV-Daily-Report-May-24-2018-Mayor-Dist-1-3.pdf” title=”519 EV Daily Report-May 24, 2018 Mayor & Dist 1 (3)”] What this huge surge in turnout over the last three days, after an anemic first eleven days, means for the outcome of the May 24 election is anyone’s guess.…
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A total of 6,654 residents of Nashville/Davidson County turned out to early vote on Friday, eclipsing Thursday’s single day record of 5,194 during the 14 day early voting period that began May 4 and ends at 4:30 pm today for the May 24 special mayoral election, bringing the total number of early votes cast to 26,758, with one final day of early voting remaining today. The heavy turnout on Friday was remarkable, given the anemic pace of early voting for the first 11 days of early voting before Thursday’s strong turnout, and the fact that the 11 early voting locations on Friday closed at 5:30 pm instead of 7:00 pm, as was the case on Thursday, You can see the early voting totals, by day and early voting location, as provided to The Tennessee Star by the Davidson County Election Commission, here: [pdf-embedder url=”https://tennesseestar.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/518EV-Daily-Report-May-24-2018-Mayor-Dist-1-2.pdf” title=”518EV Daily Report-May 24, 2018 Mayor & Dist 1 (2)”] Today is the last day of early voting. If more than 3,000 votes are cast before the 11 voting locations close at 4:30 pm, the early voting totals for the May 24 special mayoral election will be at least 29,600–slightly more than half of the…
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Early voting turnout in the May 24 Nashville special mayoral election jumped to 5,194 on Thursday, the largest single day early voting turnout so far. As was the case on Tuesday, when the previous one day high of 3,537 was set, all 11 early voting locations were open until 7 pm. But with just two more days of early voting left, total turnout is still on track to come in at less than half of the early voting turnout for the May 1 transit plan referendum election, where voters overwhelmingly rejected the $9 billion plan by a 64 percent to 36 percent margin. In 12 days of early voting so far, just more than 20,000 residents of Nashville/Davidson County have cast their ballots. But on the last two days of early voting all 11 early voting poll locations will close at 5:30 pm today and 4:30 pm on Saturday. The loss of those extra hours means it is unlikely that turnout on either day will exceed Thursday’s one day high of 5,194. The last three days of early voting in the 14 day early voting period of the May 1 transit plan referendum election saw the heaviest turnout–37 percent of…
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Early voting turnout in the May 24 Nashville special mayoral election hit a one day high on Tuesday of 3,533, bringing the total early vote to just shy of 12,000. With only four more days left, however, total early voting turnout is still expected to be in the range of 23,000 to 25,000, less than half the 59,000 in the recently completed May 1 transit plan referendum election. The higher early vote total on Tuesday was, in part, attributable to the fact that eleven early voting locations throughout Nashville were open from 8:00 am to 7:00 pm–two and a half hours longer than the 4:30 pm closing time on most of the ten other early voting days that have been completed so far. Early voting polls will close again at 4:30 pm on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Thursday is the only remaining early voting day when all eleven polling locations will be open until 7 pm. The extra two and a half hours the early voting locations were open on Tuesday resulted in 900 more votes cast than on Monday, when polls closed at 4:30 pm and slightly more than 2,600 votes were cast. Turnout is likely to be somewhat…
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Early voting continues to lag in the May 24 Nashville special mayoral election, as only 2,605 votes were cast in Nashville/Davidson County on Monday. Over nine days of early voting, only 8,419 votes have been cast. With just five days of early voting left between now and Saturday, the total number of early votes cast will be about 22,000 if the remaining days average 2,600 votes a day. Typically, however, the last three days of early voting see an uptick in activity. If that happens, early voting totals could reach about 25,000. You can see the daily breakdown by polling location, as provided by the Davidson County Election Commission to The Tennessee Star here: [pdf-embedder url=”https://tennesseestar.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/EV-Daily-Report-May-24-2018-Mayor-Dist-1.pdf” title=”EV Daily Report-May 24, 2018 Mayor & Dist 1″] Those numbers, however, pale in comparison to the 59,000 early votes cast in the May 1 transit plan referendum, which Nashville/Davidson County voters rejected overwhelmingly by a 64 percent to 36 percent margin. That election saw about 123,000 total votes cast. If current voting trends continue, the total number of votes cast are likely to come in at a range between a low of 46,000 and a high of 53,000. All estimates within that range…
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee–Only 5,810 votes have been cast after eight days of early voting in the May 24 Nashville special mayoral election. With just six more days of early voting, the total early vote count is on a trajectory to come in at less than 25,000. If early voting for the final six days of the early voting period, which ends May 19, averages 3,000 per day–a single day total that has yet to be reached in this election– the number of ballots cast in Nashville/Davidson County during the early voting period will be about 23,800. If that daily average is 2,300–the average for the most recent two days–the number of total ballots cast during the early voting period will be about 19,600. In most recent Nashville/Davidson County elections, voting on election day has been just slightly higher than during the early voting period. This suggests that total votes cast in the May 24 Nashville special mayoral election will be about 55,000, which is less than half of the 123,000 cast in the May 1 transit plan referendum in which Nashvillians rejected the $9 billion plan introduced by disgraced former Mayor Megan Barry and supported by Acting Mayor David Briley by…
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Early voting turnout increased dramatically on Friday to 2,810, more than double the 1,205 that turned out for the first five days in the Nashville special mayoral election as the number of polling sites increased from one to eleven, to bring the total votes cast to 4,215 in six days. With eight more days early voting left, turnout projections remain will behind the 123,000 who turned out for the May 1 transit referendum. Extrapolating at a rate of 3,000 per day for the next 8 days, total early voting would be about 28,000. Assuming double that on election day May 24, total turnout would be in the range of 55,000 to 60,000, about half of the May 1 transit plan referendum. “As more satellite voting locations make casting a ballot in the Special Election easier we should expect the numbers of votes to increase dramatically,” Tennessee Star political editor Steve Gill pointed out. “But without the presence of other candidates on the ballot, the participation level in this race will likely be a record low. That will make polling difficult and predictions of which two candidates are most likely to emerge in a runoff even harder.” “A quick sprint election…
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The exterior of Metro Nashville/Davidson County’s Howard Avenue Office Building looked more like a ghost town on Thursday than the city’s only open early voting location. Turnout on the fifth day of early voting in the May 24 special mayoral election tumbled to anemic levels, as only 166 residents of Nashville/Davidson County cast their votes. The grand total for five full days of early voting–all conducted at only one polling location, the Howard Avenue Office Building–is just 1,205, or barely 240 early votes cast per day. That early voting turnout is in stark contrast to the more than 3,000 early votes per day that were cast during the early voting period of the May 1 transit plan referendum in which more than 59,000 residents of Nashville/Davidson County early voted, about 64,000 voted on election day, giving a total turnout of a little more than 123,000 voters. Early voting results are expected to take a significant uptick today, when the number of early voting locations increases from one to eleven. Early voting begins today at 7:00 am and ends at 7:00 pm at these ten additional locations: Belle Meade City Hall Bellevue Library Bordeaux Library Casa Azafran Community Center Edmonson Pike…
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The fifth day of early voting in Nashville’s special mayoral election on Wednesday saw another stunningly low turnout–only 194 residents of Nashville/Davidson County cast their ballots, bringing the five day early voting total to an anemic 1,039. After five full days of early voting, less than one-third of one percent of the active registered voters in Nashville/Davidson County (which is slightly more than 360,000) have cast their ballots in the May 24 special mayoral election to select a mayor who will serve out the remaining one year and three months of disgraced former Mayor Megan Barry’s term. Barry resigned on March 6, the same day she pleaded guilty to a felony theft charge related to her two year long affair with her bodyguard, former Metro Nashville Police Department Sgt. Rob Forrest. The anemic turnout levels spells big trouble for the campaign of Acting Mayor David Briley. First, it confirms that voters find him an uninspiring candidate. Second, it indicates that voters are likely burned out on politics, after they turned out in droves–about 123,000 total voters went to the polls–to decisively reject the $9 billion transit plan Briley endorsed, 64 percent to 36 percent. Finally, and perhaps more importantly, it…
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Turnout for the first four days of early voting in the Nashville special mayoral election is abysmally low, with a total of only 845 ballots cast so far. Only 277 votes were cast on Friday, 89 on Saturday, 220 on Monday, and 259 on Tuesday, according to a report sent to The Tennessee Star and other local media outlets by the Davidson County Election Commission late Tuesday. Only ten more days of early voting remain between Wednesday and Saturday, May 19, the last day of early voting (early voting is not open on Sundays). The election date is Thursday, May 24. The Howard Office Building downtown is the only early voting location open between now and Thursday. On Friday, another ten early voting locations will be open until May 19: Belle Meade City Hall Bellevue Library Bordeaux Library Casa Azafran Community Center Edmonson Pike Library Goodlettsville Community Center Green Hills Library Hermitage Library Madison Library Southeast The low early voting total so far for the May 24 special mayoral election contrasts dramatically with the early voting for the recently completed May 1 transit referendum, when just a little more than 59,000 residents of Nashville/Davidson County early voted, an average of…
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