‘No matter what’: Voters turn out to cast their ballots on Election Day despite the downpours, lightning and a flood advisory

Election Day dawned gray and rainy in Nashville on Thursday morning. But plenty of voters were braving the weather to cast their ballots at polling places across the city, including the Cathedral of Praise, where there was a steady trickle of voters throughout the morning and early afternoon, with an uptick around lunchtime.

Poll workers said that this North Nashville church has become a familiar polling place for the surrounding community over the years, and that they see a lot of the same people coming out each election. That’s different than say, the polling place on Belmont’s campus, where there’s a lot of turnover as students come and go.  

For some, like Tonja Patton, voting at the Cathedral of Praise has become a family tradition.   

Patton voted today alongside her husband, son and daughter. She said she’s always made a point of making sure her children understand the importance of suffrage.   

“(They) need to know the history of voting in the Black community,” she explained. “People died for this right. So we want make sure that our family gets out and votes in every election — no matter what.”  

For Patton’s daughter, Amaria, this is only the second election she’s been old enough to participate in.  

“I’m just here to get more familiar with my community and try to be involved and vote for the right people in council,” she said. “I feel pretty good. I feel like one vote can make a difference.”