Some La Vergne voters are upset they have to cast their ballots - WSMV Channel 4

Some La Vergne voters are upset they have to cast their ballots in Smyrna

Voters in La Vergne may want to check their new voter's registration card, and find out if your polling place has changed. That's because precinct polling lines have been redrawn and some voters now have to vote in an entirely different city.

Earl Garvin Senior lives on Chaney Road in La Vergne. He used to vote at the First Baptist Church near his home, but not anymore.

"I think if you live here, you (should be able to) vote here," Garvin said.

Garvin now has to drive about five and a half miles away to the Tennessee Rehabilitation Center in Smyrna just to vote.

"Why (do) I have to drive way over to Smyrna when there are voting precinct right here," Garvin asked.

His neighbor, Brenda Page-Dover, lives five houses away. She too will have to vote in Smyrna, but right across the city line at Cedar Grove Elementary.

"My concern is, are people in Smyrna voting in La Vergne?" Page-Dover asked.

Even if La Vergne Mayor Senna Mosley was up for election this November, she wouldn't even be able to vote for herself in her own city. She has been flooded with phone calls from people complaining, and she's complaining too.

"I am the mayor of the 19th largest city in the State of Tennessee, (and) as Mayor I have to go into another city to vote. That's not right."

The Mayor feels the Election Commission neglected the city with these newly drawn precinct lines.

"La Vergne has no representation on the Election Commission," Mosley said. "We feel that we need someone from this area representing us when they make these kinds of changes."

The mayor was so upset that she took her concerns to Rutherford County Administrator of Elections, Nicole Lester, to find out why the city now has fewer precincts.

There are now only three voting precincts in the city of La Vergne - Rock Springs Elementary, La Vergne Lake Elementary and La Vergne Middle.

Voters will no longer be able to cast their ballot at City Hall or La Vergne High School.

"The Election Commission did not set out to reduce the number of polling places in La Vergne, or any other specific location," Lester said. "This is a result of the reapportionment process, because Rutherford County has experienced explosive growth the past 10 years."

Folks in La Vergne think people may choose not to vote if they can't do it in their hometown.

"The elderly is not going to drive that far, they are not going to get out," Garvin said.

The Administrator of Elections said those voters impacted by the newly drawn lines can take advantage of early voting or voting by absentee ballot.

There are certain criteria to be able to vote by absentee ballot including, people 60 years old or older, military personnel, overseas residents, college students, non-felony inmates and people who will be out-of-town on Election Day.

Lester said this could prevent those voters from driving across city lines to vote.

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