NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Election employees worked long hours Thursday - the first day absentee ballots are sent to voters.
Employees at the Davidson County Election Commission had to sort and send ballots to thousands of people who've requested to vote-by-mail.
"The presidential election in 2016; we had 7,000 requests as of yesterday afternoon we had already had 17,851," said Election Administrator Jeff Roberts. "Things will pick up even more as we get closer to the date of the election."
Roberts believes there will be 100,000 requests for absentee ballots in Davidson County.
Over the next 47 days until the election, it will be a full-time job for many employees just processing those requests.
"Those come in the mail the same time the post office picks these up," said Roberts. "We have to open up all of that mail [and] find out if it's a request for an absentee ballot. Maybe it's just It's a new registration form. That takes about two hours just to open the mail."
The additional ballots also cost the county more money. However, Roberts said the state gave some money from CARES to help offset the cost.
