Early voting for the Presidential Preference Primary begins Wednesday, Feb. 14, and will run for eleven days through Tuesday, Feb. 27. Election Day is Tuesday, March 5. Polling locations will be closed on Sundays and on Monday, February 19 for Presidents Day.
The registration deadline to participate in this election has already passed, but you can still register and be ready for the August and November elections. Voters can find early voting Metro Nashville locations and hours on page 2 of this edition of the PRIDE or online.
You can confirm your Voter Registration anytime, 24/7, free, in one minute, on your phone, at: tnmap.tn.gov/voterlookup.
Get your sample ballot at: nashville.gov/departments/elections
State law requires polling locations and the area within a 100-foot boundary surrounding each entrance to remain campaign-free.
Tennesseans voting early or on Election Day should remember to bring valid photo identification with them to the polls. A driver’s license or photo ID issued by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, by the Tennessee state government, or by the federal government are acceptable even if they are expired. College student IDs are not acceptable.
Tennessee joins 15 other states holding presidential primary elections on March 5th, which is widely known as Super Tuesday.
In Nashville, presidential party primary candidates include several Republicans, while the Democratic party offers three choices: incumbent Joseph R. Biden, Uncommitted, or Write in.
The Democratic primary also offers candidates for Executive Committeeman by Metro Council District, and out of 35 only two are contested, those being District 14, between R.J. Mamula and David Swanson, Jr.; and District 17, between Kristin Dillard and Teaka Jackson.
No Republicans qualified to run in two races: the primary for Circuit Court Judge Division IV, 20th Judicial District, which features four Democratic candidates, Tuska Alexis, Audrey Anderson, Stanley “Stan” Kweller, and Stephanie J. Williams; and Assessor of Property, between challenger Tomesia Day and incumbent Vivian Wilhoite.
Five of the nine School Board Representatives seats are on the ballot, of which only one Republican qualified, in District 1, which is the only contested District, with 3 Democratic candidates, Dominique McCord-Cotton, Robert Taylor, and Latonya Winfrey.
Please take the time to vote in this election. It seems very special to me that during Black History Month, the early voting period begins on Valentine’s Day and runs through Presidents Day. I don’t take this right, this privilege, for granted. In my lifetime, the Voting Rights Act was passed and African Americans have been elected to high offices, including a President. These hard-fought victories are important and the fact that people died for my right to vote in my lifetime is not lost on me. Please vote.
