Election Day Turnout Starts Light, May Pick Up Yet

Early voting for Metro’s runoff election set records, but it’s not yet clear if election day turnout will be as strong.

Last week, election commissioner Ray Barrett projected a doubling of the more than 43-thousand ballots cast during early voting. As of 2:00 this afternoon, just 8-thousand 6-hundred voters had turned out at the polls. Still, Barrett says many voters may have been waiting for the rain to clear, or the work day to end. He says his predicted turnout is still not out of the question.

Theresa Maynard spent several hours outside the Hadley Park Community Center today, encouraging people to vote for her husband, at-large-council candidate Jerry Maynard. Like others gathered outside the poll, Maynard says voter traffic seems slower than usual.

“We are seeing people who are using the facilities here who are saying, ‘I already voted, early voting.’ But this time around, I’m seeing a strong college element which I’m really excited to see.”

Maynard says she saw groups of Tennessee State University students show up by the carload–students like Eric Givens, who came with a group of four friends. Givens says he isn’t from Nashville, and didn’t see or hear much of the press coverage of the campaigns. But he says there’s a lot of talk at TSU about the importance of voting. And Givens says the candidates who came to campus made a big impression.

“A lot of what I heard is one-on-one personal interaction with the people. I actually met the people who I voted for, and it made a big difference in how I voted.”

Today’s election is the runoff vote for the mayoral race, eight Metro council districts, and four at-large council seats. Polls are open until 7:00 tonight.