TheVoiceOfJoyce Tomorrow is voting day in Nashville for local seats, policy recommendations for education and Judges who are opposed. Now, with the State ready to redraw the Tennessee maps, this might be your last chance to reaffirm and establish your district power. Polls are open , 7-7 pm. Vote like your life depends on it, it does. Make a plan and take a friend. Every election counts. Don’t let Martin Luther King die in Vain.

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Hey, NashVillager reader. Who are you voting for tomorrow?

Please don’t actually tell me! That was a rhetorical question to make sure that you know there is an election tomorrow.

Early voting wrapped Thursday, and turnout was low. In Davidson County, just over 22,000 people, or less than 6% of voters, cast ballots.

And it may be because the positions we’re voting on are not the highest-profile. These are county primaries we’re talking about. Roles like Nashville’s mayor and Metro Council are on a different, four-year election cycle that will be up for vote in 2027. Races for higher-level positions — governor, congressional seats, and statehouse — will be taken up later this year.

But these elections still matter. Here’s why.

WHAT TO KNOW

Credit: Paige Pfleger / WPLN News (file)While Tuesday’s election in Nashville is technically a primary — and you get to choose which primary ballot you want — it will, in fact, determine who gets the role.

That’s because no Republican is running in any of the races. So the winners in the Democratic primary will be on the path to office.

Several of these Democrats are running unopposed even within their own party, including Public Defender Martesha Johnson, County Trustee Erica Gilmore, and Sheriff Daron Hall.

But several judge seats have primary competitions, including for circuit court judge, criminal court judge, and general sessions judge. WPLN’s Cynthia Abrams has the whole list for your reference.

Nashville voters will be deciding on two contested seats the Metro Nashville school board. WPLN’s Camellia Burris says the candidates have varying issues of focus, including charter school oversight, combating learning loss and voucher expansion.

Take a look if you’re in school board District 4 (Hermitage, Donelson and Old Hickory communities) or District 6 (parts of Southeast Nashville, including Antioch).

Either way, you can make a voting plan by finding your specific polling location. They’ll be open 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. tomorrow.

The NashVillager is supported by

and Nashville Public Radio members

On today’s episode of the NashVillagerpodcast 
with host Nina Cardona 🎙️ 

What connection did the Midstate have to one of the most famous mobsters of all time? Al Capone was a bootlegger, not a moonshiner, but he found a use for the same hilly area used to hide stills from the revenuers. Plus, the local news for May 4, 2026, and Kacey Musgraves.

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MORE TO KNOW

  • Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has officially called a special session for the legislature to re-draw the state’s congressional maps. The announcement follows pressure from President Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn to eliminate Tennessee’s remaining Democratic seat in congress. “We owe it to Tennesseans to ensure our congressional districts accurately reflect the will of Tennessee voters,” Lee said.
  • Former Vice President Al Gore gave a stark assessment of the Earth’s climate to an audience this week in Nashville. Twenty years after releasing his influential documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” he noted that climate pollution is at a record high, as nations continue to burn fossil fuels that “as much extra heat every day as would be released by 750,000 Hiroshima-class atomic bombs exploding on the Earth,” Gore said. His nonprofit, the Climate Reality Project, hosted a climate workshop in Nashville for community leaders from around the nation to talk climate science and solutions. [WPLN]
     
  • How do you stay informed in Middle Tennessee? Press Forward Middle Tennessee, a coalition that supports local news outlets, has opened a survey for residents across 40 counties. The information will guide future investments and partnerships. The survey is open May 1 through May 31 and is available in English, Spanish, Kurdish-Kurmanji, and Kurdish-Sorani. It takes about 5 minutes to complete. (Disclosure: Nashville Public Radio has two staffers serving on Press Forward’s steering committee.)
     
  • The largest publicly traded company in Nashville is laying off workers. Healthcare giant HCA confirmed to the Nashville Business Journal that it’s letting go of a “small portion” of its 300,000 U.S-based workers.However, two sources tell the publication that the cuts were significant. The total number of layoffs is not yet publicly available. HCA says the layoffs do not affect workers who provide direct patient care. A press release last year said the company planned to hire 3,000 workers in Hyderabad, India, to handle IT, HR, logistics and accounting.

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