Tag: early voting

Low Turnout in Early Voting for Nashville’s Special Mayoral Election

Tennessee Star Staff

Turnout on the first day of early voting for Nashville’s special mayoral election on Friday was low, a stark contrast to the heavy early voting seen in the just completed May 1 transit plan referendum and the August 2015 mayoral election. Only 277 residents of Nashville/Davidson County early voted on Friday, less than one-third of the 900 who early voted during the first day of the early voting period leading up to the August 2015 mayoral election, which saw the top two vote getters, Megan Barry and David Fox, qualify for the runoff election the following month that Barry won. Metro Council member Dave Rosenberg, who also runs Harpeth Strategies, the polling and political communications firm, tweeted the details of the low first day turnout: 277 people voted today. On one hand, it’s a Howard School-only day that doesn’t draw like countywide early voting. On the other hand, about 900 people voted on the first Howard-only day in the August 2015 race. — Dave Rosenberg (@DaveRosenbergTN) May 4, 2018 Early voting in advance of the May 1 transit plan referendum, which extended over a 16 day period beginning April 11 and ending April 26, was far more robust. A total of…

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Early Voting Begins Today in Nashville’s Special Mayoral Election

Tennessee Star Staff

Early voting in Nashville’s special mayoral election began today, just three days after residents of Nashville/Davidson County went to the polls and defeated the $9 billion Nashville transit plan, 64 percent to 36 percent. Taxpayers will spend an extra $2 million on the May 24 special mayoral election, thanks to the ill advised and legally unsound decision made by the Davidson County Election Commission to schedule the election for a later date, rather than follow the law, as The Tennessee Supreme Court later told them to do in a landmark legal decision last month. The legal and common sense decision that the Davidson County Election Commission rejected would have scheduled both the transit plan referendum and the special mayoral election for the same day, May 1. Residents of Nashville/Davidson County can early vote beginning today, and continuing until Saturday, May 19, as News Channel 5 reported: Right now, you can only vote at the Howard Office Building in downtown Nashville. Hours vary but it opens at 8 a.m. every weekday. All early polling locations will open next Friday, May 11. WSMV offered this guide to early voting: The following locations will be open for voting starting Friday, May 11: Belle…

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Early Voting Opens In Crucial Nashville Transit Referendum

Jason M. Reynolds

Early voting has begun in Nashville-Davidson County, and groups seeking an alternative to the $9 billion light rail transit plan are urging voters to head to the polls early. Election Day — and the transit referendum —are May 1, but early voting began April 10 and will run through April 26. Poll locations for early voting are posted on the NoTax4Tracks website. “We need as many people as possible to vote against this costly and fiscally irresponsible transit plan,” the group says in a newsletter. “Otherwise, Davidson County will have the highest sales tax of any major city and households will pay an extra $43,000 for a transit plan that does NOT solve the traffic congestion problem and does NOT serve the whole county. “The other side is making false claims so it is essential we fight back to provide residents with all the facts. Reaching out and communicating with potential voters is the most important thing we can do during this critical time.” NoTax4Tracks also reports that the neighborhoods with the worst traffic will see little relief from light rail. Better Transit For Nashville posted what it calls the Top 100 reasons to vote against the light rail plan.…

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