NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Early voting has been open for only one day in Tennessee and already the voter turnout for the first day has surpassed that of 2016.
In Davidson County, a total of 44,301 people had voted early either in-person or by an absentee ballot. After the first day of early voting in 2016, only 12,397 had voted - a 257% difference since the last presidential election.
An increase was seen statewide as well. By the end of the day Wednesday, 273,325 Tennesseeans had voted early - a large jump from 2016's 143,141 voters.
Long lines began to form at some polling places in Davidson County even before polling places opened Wednesday. Some waited in line for about two hours to cast their ballot, but others said the process was smooth. Election officials encouraged voters to not let the long lines scare them away because they are slightly deceiving due to social distancing guidelines.
In Maury County, there is only one location for residents to early vote. And the line at the polling place in Columbia reflected that. We talked with voters who said they weren't too bothered by the wait simply because they knew the importance of casting their ballot. Others didn't want to rely on voting by mail, which meant they had to brave the line.
Click here to see the full first-day results of early voting.
