NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Early voting is underway in Nashville for key seats, after candidates for mayor and several districts did not receive over 50% of votes on August 3.

This isn’t the first time Nashville’s experienced a runoff election. In 2019, Mayor John Cooper won against incumbent David Briley, receiving 69.1% percent of votes.

In 2015, Mayor Megan Barry beat David Fox in the run-off, receiving 54.8%.

This year, Alice Rolli and Freddie O’Connell are going head-to-head for mayor.

In the general election, Democrat Freddie O’Connell received 27.15% of votes and Republican Alice Rolli received 20.22%. In Nashville’s history, no candidate who’s come in second place in the general election has gone on to win the run-off.

Despite that and the fact that Nashville is a primarily democratic city, Vanderbilt University Professor of Political Science John Geer said it is still anyone’s game.

“Nashville is a blue city, there’s no doubt about that, but it looks bluer than it actually is because we’re surrounded by a sea of red that is Tennessee itself,” said Geer. “It isn’t that Nashville is as liberal, for example—as a city like San Francisco or Chicago, and there is a number of moderates.”

At the polls, residents will also vote for Metro Councilmember At Large, selecting four of the following candidates: Burkley Allen, Chris Cheng, Quin Evans-Segall, Olivia Hill, Howard Jones, Delishia Porterfield, Russ Pulley, and Jeff Syracuse.

Plus, the following races are on the ballot:

  • Council District 4 (Vote for One)
    • Davette Blalock
    • Mike Cortese
  • Council District 11 (Vote for One)
    • Jeff Eslick
    • Eric Patton
  • Council District 29 (Vote for One)
    • Tasha Ellis
    • John Reed

Finally, a special election will decide who fills Representative Bill Beck’s seat in District 51 due to his passing. The candidates include David Hooven (R), Aftyn Behn (D), and Annabelle Lee (Independent).

Early voting runs through September 9. The last day to request an absentee ballot is September 7.

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The polls open at 8 a.m. with varying closing times. Residents can vote at any one of the 12 polling locations.