On August 4, 2002, Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County will hold Election Day for State and Federal Primaries, the Davidson County General Election and the Oak Hill Municipal Election. On the ballot there are four very important (and lengthy) Charter Amendments that every citizen should read ahead of time, definitely before you show up to cast your ballot. There also are literally dozens of Judicial Retention questions concerning Supreme Court and Appellate Court justices.
Please, please, please download the Sample Ballot from the Nashville Davidson County Metro Election Commission website, at: https://www.nashville.gov/departments/elections/voters/find-2022-election-information.
The deadline to register for the August 4 elections is Tuesday, July 5, 2022.
Nashville area voters are encouraged to verify their eligibility status and polling location as soon as possible. Due to the Republication redistricting and gerrymandering shenanigans, many voters may have been purged, and even more will likely find that their polling places and even their legislative and congressional districts have changed. This author was moved to a different Congressional district and my polling location was moved from a fire hall two blocks away to a school several miles away. I haven’t moved, but the political landscape has shifted. Call the County Election Commission NOW at (615) 862-8800 for details, and to verify your status.
Early voting begins at Howard Office Building at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, July 15 and runs through Tuesday, July 19 there. All early voting locations open on Wednesday, July 20 at 8:00 a.m. and hold various hours on different days through Saturday, July 30 at 4:30 p.m.
Many candidates who won the county Democratic Primaries held in May now find themselves without Republican opposition in the County General election. There are, however, a few notable exceptions. Democrat Lynda Jones is being challenged for her seat as General Sessions Judge Division IX by Brian Horowitz.
Four Metro School Board Districts are being contested, as follows: Rachel Elrod (D = Democrat) faces Todd Pembroke (R = Republican) and Edward Arnold (I = Independent) in District 2; Berthena Nabaa-McKinney (D) faces Kelli Phillips (R) in District 4; Cheryl Mayes (D) faces Fran Bush (I) in District 6; and Erin O’Hara Block (D) faces Amy Pate (I) in District 8.
In the state primary elections, here in middle Tennessee you may notice that the redistricting and blatant gerrymandering has severely impacted voters in Districts 5, 6 and 7, which have been engineered to help the Republicans gain and hold power over the congressional districts statewide. This author has been a happy resident of District 5 his entire 50-year voting life until this year, when the redistricting threw me into District 7. In the state Democratic primary, three races are of particular interest, Governor, Senate District 19, and House District 52. Carnita Faye Atwater, Jason Brantley Martin and JB Smiley, Jr. are competing for Governor; Justin Jones and Delishia Porterfiield are competing for House D52; and in an interesting situation, five candidtes are qualified for Senate D19, including Barry Barlow, Jerry Maynard, Charlane Oliver, Rossi Turner, and Ludye N. Wallace.
Please do your research and find out about the candidates on the ballot. Make sure you are registered, and have the proper identification with you and have read the items on the ballot before you go to vote. Be prepared for long lines and delays, and be patient; you may make a new friend!
You may verify your voter information anytime online at: tnmap.tn.gov/voterlookup/.
