Final Days of Early Voting Produce Long Lines

Lines at the Sumner County Election Commission snake through the hallways. Photo credit Blake Farmer/WPLN

Early voting continues to produce lines more than an hour long in some parts of Middle Tennessee. More than 1.1 million people statewide have cast a ballot early.

On average, more than 100,000 people a day have been voting – so many that folks show up, see the line and decide to try again later.

David Whitt voted early and is also volunteering for a candidate at the Sumner County Election Commission. The line snakes around the building’s hallways. Every spot in the parking lot is taken, and people are pulled up on the curbs.

“People are parking in the grass. It’s almost like they’re jumping out of the cars and running in. They’re that passionate on both sides.”

Whitt says he’s pleasantly surprised, since the presidential race is all-but decided in Tennessee according to polls. The latest from MTSU shows the state trending even more Republican than in 2008.