Super Tuesday voting in Nashville, Tennessee, has been delayed after a tornado swept through the metro Nashville area during the early hours of Tuesday morning. The storms left a path of devastation stretching miles, with the death toll rising to 19 by mid-morning, dozens of others either still missing or in the hospital after sustaining injuries.
Although a number of polling locations were damaged in the storm, Super Tuesday is still scheduled to take place in the city, though some minor delays have occurred. According to the Tennessean, polls were initially scheduled to open at 7 a.m. CT, though they instead opened an hour later at 8 a.m. CT, Tre Hargett, the Tennessee secretary of state, announced. Polls will still close at 7 p.m. local time.
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The storms are also affecting voting in Wilson County, which also suffered damage from the tornado.
“Working with election officials around the state to ensure polls in affected counties are open for the required 10 hours today,” Hargett announced. “Due to street closures, power outages as well as public safety concerns Davidson and Wilson Counties are going to open at 8AM. They will close at 7PM.”
“I know this pales by comparison to what many are dealing with this am,” Hargett added. “Big thank you to our election officials who are working through some difficult circumstances today.”
In addition, a number of alternative polling locations have opened in both Davidson and Wilson Counties. A list of polling locations for Davidson County can be found by clicking here. Polling locations for Wilson County can be found by clicking here.
The disruption to Super Tuesday, the day in which the most total states host their presidential primaries, comes as the state was battered with heavy storms late Monday night and into early Tuesday morning. A tornado touched down in the metro Nashville area, causing severe damage to the popular Germantown and East Nashville neighborhoods before continuing its westward path.
More than 40 buildings in Nashville collapsed, with dozens of others suffering extensive damage. Streets in the city were scattered with debris, and tens of thousands remained without power as the sun rose.
At this time, the full damage of the storm is continuing to be assessed, and it has been reported that many people remain missing and possibly trapped. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, in a statement shared to Twitter, promised to “continue deploying search and rescue teams, opening shelters across the state, and sending emergency personnel to our communities hit hardest.”
