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Voting and elections the focus of Women's March 2.0 Nashville

Val Hoeppner

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (HAGGARD) — The Women’s March 2.0 in Nashville this past weekend may have been billed as a protest, but the focus seemed to be on voting and winning elections.

The march route from Public Square to the Bicentennial Mall was lined with election signs. Politicians were working the crowd and Mayor Megan Barry was a featured speaker.

Hazel Thornton with the League of Women Voters was just one several people on hand to register new voters.

“There are a lot of people who care deeply about what’s going on, but they don’t quite make the connection between the problems that they see and what they can do at the ballot box.”

Tennessee ranks last nationwide for voter turnout and it falls close to the bottom in voter registration. The League of Women Voters is trying to change that. Ahead of the governor’s race and various other elections this year, they’re taking a closer look at why Tennesseans aren’t voting.

“We’re hoping to use that marching energy and get them into the polls. In Tennessee, the voting process is somewhat complicated — with the photo ID laws to navigate.”

Thornton called elections a numbers game, and said every vote counts. She says the majority of people they registered to vote this past weekend were millennials.