Nashville Election Commission clears racing referendum for ballot
The Davidson County Election Commission certified a petition Friday seeking to end auto racing at the Nashville Fairgrounds, clearing the measure for the ballot while supporters defended their campaign and opponents raised allegations of forged signatures and misleading canvassing.
Commission Certifies 47,679 Valid Signatures for Ballot
The commission voted 4-0, with one abstention, to certify 47,679 signatures collected by the petition drive. Election officials said 40,194 signatures were required to qualify for a referendum. Davidson County Election Commission staff spent 30 days analyzing more than 74,000 signatures turned in by the group Restore Our Fairgrounds, deeming about 63 percent valid, according to the article. Republican commission member Dan Davis abstained from the vote.
The proposed charter amendment would remove auto racing as a required fairgrounds activity, add affordable housing and workforce housing to the list of activities, and require the Fair Board to discontinue racing. Regional and local competitions continue to be held at the speedway, even though a NASCAR Cup Series event has not taken place there since 1984. Efforts to bring the Cup Series back have fueled debate over the property’s future.
Supporters Defend Petition as Opponents Allege Fraud and Deception
During the public comment period, advocates on both sides of the issue addressed the commission. Restore Our Fairgrounds coalition co-founder Mike Kopp said the petition gives voters a direct say in the property’s future, including opportunities for green space, housing, and improvements to Browns Creek. “We want a Nashville for all Nashvillians, not just for tourists, not just for out-of-state racing fans, and certainly not for out-of-state racetrack billionaires,” Kopp said.
Councilmember Terry Vo, whose district includes the fairgrounds, supported certification, telling the commission that the property could help address Nashville’s needs for parks and affordable housing. Opponents with Decline to Sign urged commissioners to wait for a pending court challenge, presenting affidavits raising concerns about forged signatures and unhonored withdrawal requests.
Resident Christine Hall told commissioners she and her son declined to sign the petition, but she later discovered a signature under her son’s name on the document. “At no time did I or my son Tyler sign this petition,” Hall said. Jordan Huffman, Sherry Wiener, and Olivia Hill were among the councilmembers who also voiced anxieties regarding canvassers who pitched affordable housing initiatives while omitting any mention of racing consequences. Hill noted that canvassers asked people if they wanted more affordable housing in Nashville without mentioning a racetrack or the fairgrounds.
Coalition representatives disputed accusations of widespread fraud. Stephen Lofton, who helped manage the drive, said canvassers were trained to let people read the petition. John Spragens, a representative for Restore Our Fairgrounds, addressed claims that more than 2,000 residents asked to have their names removed. “About 2,000 emails were dumped on us in the last week of the petition drive,” Spragens said, adding that the group attempted to verify and remove signatures for people who responded by the Wednesday deadline before submission. “We have bent over backwards to accommodate people’s requests to be removed.”
Legal Challenges and Court Dates Remain Ahead
Friday’s vote certified the signature count, but it did not enact the amendment or resolve the allegations raised during public comment. John Richardson, who serves as the Election Administrator, reported that staff and poll workers processed 75,246 total signatures, ultimately validating 47,679 while turning down 27,567. Decline to Sign disputed the calculation method used by officials, arguing the required threshold should have been roughly 47,000 based on active registered voters.
The commission’s legal counsel stated that Friday was the strict certification deadline and no court order prevented the panel from acting. With the certification complete, the legal questions now shift to Davidson County Chancery Court, where opponents have filed a challenge to the signatures. Chancellor Anne Martin set a show cause hearing for Oct. 27 to examine the pending legal positions of both Restore Our Fairgrounds and Decline to Sign.