{"id":14370,"date":"2016-11-04T05:50:12","date_gmt":"2016-11-04T05:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=14370"},"modified":"2016-11-04T05:50:12","modified_gmt":"2016-11-04T05:50:12","slug":"voters-turned-away-after-early-voting-polls-close-in-hamilton-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/voters-turned-away-after-early-voting-polls-close-in-hamilton-county.html","title":{"rendered":"Voters turned away after early voting polls close in Hamilton County"},"content":{"rendered":"

Voters turned away after early voting polls close in Hamilton County<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Voters turned away after early voting polls close in Hamilton County:-<\/strong> Tennessee voters rushed to the polls Thursday night. It was their last chance to vote early.<\/span><\/p>\n

The big turnout caused long lines, parking problems and heavy traffic in Chattanooga.<\/span><\/p>\n

Polling sites were busy up to the very last minute. Voters were being turned away after the polls had closed.<\/span><\/p>\n

One minute past 7:00 p.m. was too late to cast a ballot at the Hamilton County Election Commission.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I can’t let you in. It’s the law,” one poll worker told a voter who showed up just minutes after the voting deadline.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bobby Cowart got off work just a few minutes too late. He now plans to vote on Tuesday.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I was a little bit disappointed, but looking at all the lines the past week, I’m hoping that Tuesday, I’ll just run right through,” he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The line to vote was wrapped around the building.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I know Tuesday’s gonna be crazier than it is right now. But I wasn’t expecting it to be this crazy,” said early voter Tequila Bonner, who waited in line for 45 minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Election Commission’s parking lot ran out of space during the after-work rush, forcing drivers to park in the grass.<\/span><\/p>\n

Voters waited patiently outside, while poll workers inside kept the lines moving.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I just didn’t expect this many people to be out here,” said Chip Pollard, a first-time voter.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Everybody was like, oh my gosh, it’s such a long line. But it was probably only 30 minutes,” Kelley Nave said after she voted.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nave expected to wait much longer than 30 minutes, and was pleased to leave in less than an hour.<\/span><\/p>\n

The crowds on Election Night could be even bigger.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Waiting times are going to be off the charts that day,” said Nave. “I was just terrified, with my work schedule, that I didn’t want to take a chance of not being able to fit (voting) in.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Overall, more than 1.5 million people early or absentee voted statewide. In Hamilton County, nearly 74,000 people voted early.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0http:\/\/www.wrcbtv.com\/story\/33628638\/voters-turned-away-after-early-voting-polls-close-in-hamilton-county<\/span><\/p>\n

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