Faith leaders in Nashville are working to increase voter turnout for the midterm elections.
Members of Nashville Organized for Action and Hope – an interfaith group also known as NOAH – sang and chanted before casting their ballots at voting sites in Bordeaux and Edgehill on Saturday.
Their mission was to bring “souls to the polls” — based on the belief that people of faith are called to not only welcome strangers and feed their neighbors, but to participate in the decisions that affect their collective future.
Tennessee has among the lowest voter turnout rates in the country, and, in Davidson County, many of those who are registered to vote never make it to the ballot box. Reverend Kelli X, pastor of the Village Church in Madison and one of NOAH’s founding members, said getting people registered is only the first step.
“Folks need to have a plan to go vote and to know that there are locations and availability,” she told WPLN News. “We’ve been knocking on doors, canvassing, encouraging folks to know that voting is happening and their votes matter.”
The local chapter of the NAACP is also offering free rides to voters who need transportation to polling sites.
Camellia Burris/WPLN News
Sen. Charlane Oliver, D – Nashville, spoke to attendees of the march in Bordeaux to provide some background on the three constitutional amendments on the ballot. The proposed amendments focus on bail, property taxes, and the rights of crime victims.
While voter turnout in Nashville has improved since the last midterm election in 2022, NOAH chose to rally voters in Edgehill and Bordeaux to make sure residents who may feel disenfranchised know that they have a place in the political process.
“The question is does our state government see the people who live in Bordeaux? Do our local elected officials and federal government see Bordeaux?” asked Rev. Alicia Smith-Haddock, the chairperson for NOAH’s transformational task force.
“We wanted to make it very clear that we see the people in Bordeaux,” she told WPLN News.
Speakers at the event also addressed concerns about problems with voting machines – encouraging voters to take their time, check their ballots and report any issues to poll workers
Early voting ends Oct. 29 and Election Day is Nov. 3.
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