By Michael Cass and Brian Wilson | The Tennessean
Voters started heading to the polls Wednesday to cast their ballots in a presidential primary that could pack more punch than most in Tennessee.
The first day of early voting for the March 6 election also provided the first test of the state's controversial new voter ID law, which requires voters to show photo identification at the polls. But county election officials said voters were uniformly prepared, which the Tennessee Republican Party chairman said was a testament to education efforts by Secretary of State Tre Hargett's office.
Turnout was steady in some places and slower in others as Republicans pushed buttons for the men who hope to take on President Barack Obama in November. In Williamson County, 290 people voted, including 277 in the Republican primary.
Fewer voters turned out in Nashville, which leans Democratic. But some Republicans did show up at the Davidson County Election Commission's headquarters at 800 Second Ave. S., the city's only early voting site until Feb. 23.
Gary Gentry said he voted for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who was long considered the Republican front-runner but is now in a tight race nationally with former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. Gentry said Romney, a Mormon, has "the best chance."
"So far, he's the leading candidate. His religion doesn't bother me, though it bothers some people. He's more conservative than other people think."
But Owen Morrell said he voted for Santorum at least partly out of distaste for the other candidates, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
"I can't vote for Romney or Gingrich," Morrell said.
George Wooten, another Republican, said he voted for U.S. Rep. Ron Paul because he just "seemed like the right choice."
Gingrich plans to come to Franklin for a fundraiser at a private residence on Feb. 27, campaign spokeswoman Susan Meyers said from Atlanta.
Chris Devaney, chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party, said he expects the state to play "a critical role" in the nominating process this year.
"It's been a long time since Tennessee really had a strong voice in choosing the Republican nominee," Devaney said in a conference call with reporters. "I hope and I expect that Republican voters will take advantage of this."
Law criticized
The voter ID law, pushed by Republicans as a way to combat voter fraud, has been assailed by Democrats as a way to suppress turnout, particularly among the elderly, the disabled and other groups who tend not to drive.
"A lot of old people don't have IDs. It takes a lot of votes from the elderly," said Charles Scott, 69, a private investigator and Democrat who voted in Nashville on Wednesday.
But Davidson County Election Administrator Albert Tieche said each of the 244 people who voted in Nashville produced a valid ID. Even if they hadn't, they could have cast provisional ballots and returned with a valid ID by the close of business on March 8, Tieche said.
Attorney George Barrett said he worries that Tieche's poll workers might challenge out-of-state college students who present driver's licenses from outside Nashville. A document recently discussed by the election commission says, "If you are attending school in Davidson County but your residence is in another county or another state, you would register to vote where you have an established residence, such as your parents' home."
In a letter he sent to Mark Goins, the state's elections coordinator, Barrett wrote that the state "does not set forth any hard and fast requirements for establishing legal residence." Instead, state law sets out six factors that "may be considered."
"As you know, residence is confirmed by the voter's registration, not by the identification given at the polls," Barrett added.
A state spokesman said Goins would "respond at an appropriate time." Tieche said the election commission was simply following state law.
"Some people don't like the law the way it's written," he said.
Early voting ends Feb. 28.