Household costs and the use of surveillance technology emerged as leading concerns in a small Nashville Banner community survey ahead of the Nov. 3 election, with respondents also raising questions about ballot access and election security.
The Banner received responses from roughly 40 people after distributing the survey to about 200 community connectors and reporting contacts. The results describe those participants’ priorities, rather than establishing how Nashville or Tennessee voters broadly rank election issues.
The organization sought the feedback to help shape its 2026 election coverage. It anticipated participation could be lower in a nonpresidential election year, particularly in Tennessee, which has historically struggled with low voter turnout. The effort was intended to give community concerns a direct role in decisions about what reporters cover.
Cost of living was identified by 47 percent of respondents, with several pointing specifically to grocery and gasoline prices. Surveillance and technology followed at 31 percent. Affordable housing and education each registered 18 percent, while loss of benefits registered 16 percent.
Those categories touch different layers of government. Federal decisions can affect benefit programs and household expenses, while state and local officials make consequential choices about education, housing development and public spending. For voters comparing candidates, identifying which office has authority over a particular concern can be as important as identifying a candidate’s position.
Housing costs have been a persistent concern during Nashville’s growth. In North Nashville, that discussion also intersects with a longer history of displacement and neighborhood change, including the construction of Interstate 40 through a historically Black community. Affordability involves not only the price of a home or apartment but also whether longtime residents can remain near jobs, schools and family networks.
Technology concerns in the survey included Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Flock cameras and unregulated artificial intelligence. The Banner connected that interest to the local impact of immigration enforcement and scrutiny surrounding two proposed data centers.
Flock’s automated license plate reader technology illustrates why debates about public safety increasingly include questions about privacy. Such systems can help police identify vehicles associated with investigations, but their use also raises questions about data retention, access and sharing. Data centers bring a different set of considerations, including electricity demand, water use and land-use decisions. Those broader issues provide context for evaluating proposals; they do not establish the effects of any particular project.
The responses also reflected questions about the mechanics and protection of voting. Participants wanted to know whether mail-in ballots would be allowed and how they could determine that their votes had been counted. Respondents across the political spectrum asked whether governments might meddle, lie or deny votes, and whether polling places and ballot processing would be protected from interference involving the National Guard or U.S. Postal Service.
Those questions reflect respondents’ concerns, not findings of interference.
Tennessee allows absentee voting by mail for voters who meet eligibility requirements under state law; it is not an unrestricted vote-by-mail system. Davidson County residents can consult the Davidson County Election Commission about eligibility, ballot requests, polling locations and election procedures. The Tennessee secretary of state’s GoVoteTN resources also provide official voting information. Voters should check deadlines and instructions promptly rather than assume that mail-in voting rules are the same in every state.
Survey participants included people with differing political identities: roughly 34 percent described themselves as liberal, 26 percent as moderate and 13 percent as conservative. The Banner said 47 percent identified as Black, Indigenous or people of color. Respondents could select multiple racial or ethnic categories. While the organization described the participants as diverse, the small survey should not be read as a representative poll.
The Banner is using the feedback to guide its updated online Voter’s Guide, designed as an easy-to-navigate destination for election information. It includes key dates, information on where and how to vote, candidate listings and responses to a candidate questionnaire. Audience Director Carly Myracle handled the guide’s backend design work.
Reporters are examining candidates’ positions on the issues participants prioritized, with stories scheduled daily during the week following the Banner’s Oct. 13 announcement. Those stories will remain accessible through the guide. Reporter Stephen Elliott also took election-security questions to city officials for a separate report.
Reporters plan to answer additional voter questions on Instagram at @nashville_banner before Nov. 3. Readers can send questions or feedback to managing editor Andrea Tudhope at andrea@nashvillepublicmedia.com.
Tudhope also leads the Banner’s community engagement and oversees its audio work. She previously spent a decade in public radio as a reporter, newscaster and editor. As a founding team member of America Amplified, a public media community engagement initiative, she launched a national talk show and co-wrote and edited a community-powered journalism playbook. She came to Nashville to launch WPLN’s daily program, This Is Nashville, serving as executive producer for two years.