Nov. 4 was the final day of Early Voting for Nashville’s Municipal Election.
Nov. 7, Municipal Election Day will determine the voters’ selections of two Town Council members. The Town-Clerk Treasurer is also on the ballot, but uncontested.
Voting at Town Hall feels a little like a neighborhood party. Poll workers greet many voters by name, or “hey neighbor”. Then say, “I need to see your driver’s license”. “Will I get it back?” is one lighthearted response. And when given a ballot to vote, the comment, “I only get one?” received chuckles all around.
“Why did you vote today?” I asked several voters. “It’s the last day to avoid standing in line”. “So we can go out to breakfast after we vote”. “We like the ease of early voting”. “The staff is helpful – and they’re my neighbors”.
Linda Raichel and Donna Shields drove in together to vote. They ran into Jan Goehringer and Mary Anne Soll. They discussed plans for making their Tri Kappa sorority cheeseballs, an annual fundraiser to support scholarships for Brown County High School. Some are part of a weekly Thursday lunch bunch, picking restaurants in and around the county, as well as the Nazarene church’s monthly lunch for seniors.
Paul Walker and Phil McKown took advantage of the last day of early voting. They had read the candidate information in the Democrat newspaper (derived from LWVBC Vote411 and the LWVBC candidate forum). They said it was helpful, but also knowing some of the individual candidates gave them a fuller sense to decide who would get their votes.
I overheard election workers telling a voter how much they loved their Pepper Steak soup and learned the voter was Betsy Cole, co-owner of the Nashville historical Hobnob Corner restaurant. Betsy’s family moved to Nashville when she was 13. She discussed how important the Town Council is for the Town, but also the County. Her mom was the former School Superintendent, Carol Walker and she herself was a teacher for many years. We discussed the Brown County School referendum that failed last year, and the prior referendum expires this year. A referendum will be on the ballot again.
A recent survey was sent to Brown County residents showing how low the Brown County school state and regional tax rates are compared to the rest of the state. The survey asks people which programs schools should cut if the referendum doesn’t pass. Being a strong advocate of public education, Betsy says the referendum is really important. None of the choices for programs that may be cut is desirable, and she hopes the referendum will pass.
Curious, I asked about how she and her husband Warren got started with the restaurant. Many factors led up to it being right at the time. The moment of decision was a little unexpected though. She and Warren had gone in to look for a table at an antique store that used to be on the floor above the restaurant. They knew the people who owned the restaurant and talked for a long time. Instead of buying a table, they ended up buying the restaurant.
The line of voters for the last day of early voting was pretty steady through the four hours 9 am to 1 pm.
Someone came to vote but learned they didn’t live in the Town District of Washington 2 so they couldn’t vote. A town resident voted and said she hadn’t realized the Town building was called Town Hall; she had gone to the County building to cast her vote then learned of her error and went to the right place.
One voter was thanked for her 25 years of military service. One voter had read the article in the Democrat stating voters who voted on the first two days of early voting had to return to complete a missing form, so she wanted to see if she was one of the ones who needed to cure her ballot. She wasn’t. Election workers had called all those who needed to return, and nearly all have.
Votes will be tallied after voting closes at 6 pm Nov. 7. We look forward to welcoming Nashville’s new Town Council members and the returning Town Clerk Treasurer.
Story and photos courteousy of Shari Frank, LWV Brown County President
