As Super Tuesday voting got underway, deadly storms that spawned tornadoes and heavy rains left treacherous conditions in at least two of the 14 states where residents were voting.
Some polling sites in Nashville were relocated at the last minute and sites across Nashville and in Davidson and Wilson counties opened an hour late but were still set to close at 8 p.m. EST as scheduled, Secretary of State Tre Hargett announced.
Tornadoes had ripped through parts of the state just hours earlier, destroying buildings and killing at least nine people, as severe storms caused damage across the state.
A voter makes his choice during the Democratic Presidential primary voting Tuesday, March 3, 2020, in Richmond, Va. (AP PhotoSteve Helber)
In rural central Alabama, high winds howled and the National Weather Service issued tornado warnings for at least five counties. In rural Bibb County, southwest of Birmingham, as seven poll workers were getting ready to open up the Lawley Senior Activity Center, cellphone alerts began going off with a tornado warning about 6:45 a.m., said volunteer Gwen Thompson.
The storm knocked out electricity, she said, but the precinct’s two electronic voting machines had battery backups and a few people had cast ballots less than an hour later.
“We’re voting by flashlight,” Thompson said.
People pass by businesses destroyed by storms Tuesday, March 3, 2020, in Nashville, Tenn. Tornadoes ripped across Tennessee early Tuesday, shredding buildings and killing multiple people. (AP PhotoMark Humphrey)
A voter makes her choice during the Democratic Presidential primary voting Tuesday, March 3, 2020, in Richmond, Va. (AP PhotoSteve Helber)