NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The moment polls close at 7 p.m., NewsChannel 5 goes on the air with what we hope will be numbers and analysis from precincts across our area. But last week's Aug. 4 State Primary and Municipal General Election was a different story.
"The story of tonight, though, is the waiting game," said NewsChannel 5 Anchor Carrie Sharp on the night of Aug. 4. "So many people have been in line, Davidson County and Williamson County are holding their results until everyone has the opportunity to vote."
"It’s been a bit of a wait," said Laura Murphree, a voter at the Shelby Park Community Center. "I was not expecting that. I vote in every primary, and this is the longest I’ve ever waited."
"A little over an hour and a half," said William Booker, another voter at Shelby Park. "This is usually a quiet district; you can come in and out."
The Administrator of Elections for Davidson County said it wasn't the turnout. They braced for at least 100,000 voters and a little over 70,000 showed up. So what was the problem?
"The length of the ballot really hampered the flow," said Roberts.
The ballot was so long that in some cases, voters spent 45 minutes in the booth trying to make their selections, according to Roberts.
"Some of the places where they had lines that were an hour long, they only voted 200 people all day," he said.
While his office has about 20 extra voting machines they can send to the busiest areas, that can only help so much.
"We’re never going to have an unlimited number of machines we can deploy, because we only have a finite number," said Roberts.
So the question then becomes: should voters be prepared to wait longer in November too?
"Come November — much shorter ballot, so voters will be processed very quickly," predicted Roberts.
Roberts hopes shorter ballots mean fewer headaches, but to really make sure it goes quicker, he suggests voting early and not waiting until Election Day.
"There’s multiple ways, but if you wait until 5 o’clock on Election Day to decide to vote, your chances of being in line are higher," he said.
Today, Aug. 10, is the first day Tennesseans can request an absentee ballot for the November election.
The deadline to register to vote for the November ballot is Oct. 11.
