At the end of the early voting period in Davidson County, one thing was clear: Those who showed up to the polls had an easy time of it (once they figured out how to select their preferred candidates).

More: In Tennessee, your ballot may not show the name you wanted. Why it happens and how to fix it.

Kindergarten teacher Deidre Cox voted at the Bordeaux Library. 

“I just had to make sure I vote today because the stakes are high, and we’ve never had an election like this,” she said. “It seems different, I guess, because Joe Biden, you know, got out the race at the last minute, and then, we got a new person. That’s something that’s rare that I never heard of.”

But many didn’t show up — at least early.

Around 220,000 voters cast ballots across the county, which is a more than 13% drop from the pace in 2020.

The percentage of Tennesseans who participate in elections lags behind the nation as a whole. (A study from the think tank Think Tennessee says this state was last in the nation for voter turnout in the 2022 midterm elections.)

But historically low turnout aside, the comparison to 2020 is not entirely apples to apples.

That election happened in the COVID-19 pandemic, and with that, states that typically don’t make absentee voting widely available — like Tennessee — made exceptions. Many officials and social distancing advocates also encouraged people to vote early to avoid potential crowding and lines at the polls on Election Day, which could lead to more COVID exposures.

And many voters felt passionate about a second term for Donald Trump — in either direction — and jumped at the chance to weigh in as soon as possible. WPLN saw a similar trend this time around from some voters.

Keeping the kids in mind

Chung Lee voted early at the Hermitage Library. He brought his son along, even though he isn’t quite old enough to vote, to set a good example. 

“People have given a lot up to get that right,” Lee said. “And I was explaining to my son that every time he has a chance, he must vote. Especially, you know, in this 2024 election that we probably don’t want to see a repeat of what happened from 2016 to 2020. That’s why I came to vote.”

Another local parent, April Gung, also modeled voting for her children. Gung and her husband brought their three young kids to the closest polling place to their home in Antioch.

“We always early vote, and we wanted to come today as a family for our kids to witness us doing our civic duty,” Gung said. “And we have a new baby in the family, so this is his first voting experience.”

Her son, Isaiah, was excited to go into the voting booth with his mom. 

“I think it was a fun experience,” he said. “I kinda feel proud.”

Even without them physically there in the booth, voters’ children were top of mind for parents like Latisha Smith.

“I have a 16-year-old,” she said. “A lot of the things that are being fought against affects her as well as my little cousins —  for instance, the Department of Education issue. I do think they play a vital role in our children’s education. Mainly, my biggest thing is the kids.”

Not far down the line at the Hermitage Library was Elizabeth Egan, who brought along her young son, Hollis. He played a role in her vote for Kamala Harris. 

“We’re a same-sex family, so he has two moms. And so — just having a leader that sees our family as equal, and gun violence being the No. 1 contributing factor to children death,” she said. “As a public school teacher and a mom, I just want a leader that sees that and values their life just as much as their parents do.”

Some adult children also went to the polls with their parents — like Sanaya Johnson. The 19-year-old Antioch resident went to early vote with her mom and a few of her friends. This election was her second time ever casting her ballot.

“My mom right here, she stresses it to me about how important it is just to vote in general. And I do agree. And I like to educate myself on things like that. I do feel like it’s just very important, especially for people my age, considering that we are the future,” she said. “So, it was very smooth going in and out. They made it very easy. So I enjoyed it.”

The weight of this election

Some voters expressed nerves about the heated presidential race — like Martez Coleman, a mortgage banker who lives in West Nashville. He said he was still making up his mind when faced with the ballot. 

“It’s a hard decision to make,” he said. “Really, it is — with all the rhetoric and the back and forth, social media, news media, radio … It’s hard for people to make a decision who we think ought to lead our country.”

For others, that made the decision all the more easy. John Bowser, who waited in a long line to vote early at Imperial Square Plaza in Hendersonville, planned to vote straight down the ticket for Democrats.

“First of all, I’m from Boston, so I’m more of a liberal than not. And I think compassion for people and the wellbeing of the country is way more important than anything else. There’s a lot of people here,” he said, with a laugh. “I don’t want to start anything.”

Meanwhile, in West Nashville, new resident Maddie Petit said two main issues were driving her voting decisions.

“I would say the biggest issues I’m worried about are the economy and foreign policy,” she said.

And in Hendersonville, voter Sam, who works for a landscaping company, noted it was his first chance to vote in a presidential contest. The high cost of living was top of mind for him.

“Especially for us young people, it’s like the housing market — I feel like looking in the future, it’s so hard for younger people to get in, and it seems so unrealistic to own a house in this day and age. I feel like that’s the one thing that I think we’d like to see a change in.”

The final push

Though the overall total of early voters this time around did not reach 2020’s record-breaking numbers, the surge on the final day gives us something to think about as Election Day quickly approaches.

In recent elections, about half of voters have been choosing to wait until then to go to the polls.

In the meantime, you can find all of WPLN’s election coverage here.