Nashville turnout appears brisk

Nashville voters are motivated and turning out to the polls, according to John Richardson, administrator of elections in Davidson County.

“We’ve noticed a strong, steady turnout at the 178 polling locations,” he told WPLN News.

Some voters have been concerned about intimidation or technical problems at polling locations. The Guardians of Democracy is a group of lawyers and volunteers who are monitoring polling sites with the goal of protecting voter access.

Margaret Akers, a volunteer in Davidson County, explains the kind of activity she’s on the lookout for.

“If lines are exceedingly excessive, that would be a concern if there are folks here from this would be the worst case scenario from DOJ and people feel intimidated for whatever reason,” she said.

With reports of touchscreen voting challenges, Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett says it’s important for voters to check their ballot before the final printout submission.

“Your vote lights up and so you’re able to see, ‘Oh, that wasn’t my intent.’ You change it back to what your intent was, but you also have a couple of other different opportunities to review your ballot and even when your ballot prints out before you run it through the scanner, you have the opportunity to check that that ballot two more times,” he told This Is Nashville.

Hargett notes that counties decide which machines to use. Davidson, Williamson and Wilson counties are among those using the same equipment.