‘We want people to hear our voices’: Election Day inside a Nashville jail

Election Day is one week away for the majority of Nashvillians. But for people incarcerated in Davidson County’s jails, in-person voting happens one week earlier, on Tuesday, Oct. 29.

On that day this year, the visitation rooms at the Downtown Detention Center were transformed into makeshift voting booths. Poll workers walked voters through the process two at a time.

Marianna Bacallao WPLN News

A man incarcerated at the Downtown Detention Center votes on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024.

“I vote every year. I’ve been voting since I was 18. I try to keep it keep it constant,” said one voter. WPLN is not using his name, per jail policy. “It’s a right, and it’s important that we do it. If we want people to hear our voices, we have to vote.”

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Other voters at the DDC have never cast a ballot before.

“It’s a good chance for me to help,” one first-time voter said. “Even though I’m where I’m at, I’m still able to vote because I’m not finished, so it feels good.”

Every election, incarcerated Tennesseans vote a week before the rest of the state’s voters. Turnout has been higher this year, after the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office brought on an election official to help.

“When I started … everything was brand new. I had to start the initiative to find ways to get voter (participation) up,” said Carlatina Hampton.

After years of work as an election official, Hampton joined the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office in late December, helping people within its jails access the ballot box.

Marianna Bacallao WPLN News

Carlatina Hampton (left), Community Engagement Liaison for the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office, helps coordinate Election Day for those in Nashville’s jails.

“Everybody has the right to vote, whether you’re incarcerated or not. Everybody is just one step away from being incarcerated, literally one step away,” Hampton said.

One speeding ticket or accident could mean the difference between casting your ballot in jail or at a polling place, Hampton said.

With Hampton’s help, roughly 70 people in DCSO jails were able to vote on Oct. 29, and more than twice that number were able to submit an absentee ballot.