Democratic voter Stacie Huckeba, a Tennessee woman, was overcome with emotion, remarking through tears that she's "hopeful" for the first time in a "very long time" after seeing the early voting turnout in her Tennessee community.
In a video she posted to TikTok, Huckeba, a noted photographer, says the following while sitting in her car:
"It took everything I had to keep myself together. I live in Tennessee and I've lived in this state for 20 years. And in that 20 years I early vote all the time, I'm what they call a 'super voter.'"
"I always tell people in Tennessee that early voting is so easy, it's in and out, but nobody votes. ... We're just so gerrymandered that nobody even tries. [But] This parking lot is packed. I had to drive around three times to get a parking spot and the lines were all the way around and in the library."
"I asked the woman [working the polls] if this is what it's been like because it's like the sixth day of early voting,' and she said, 'Oh my God, yes, 7 a.m. there are lines around the building, people are just in here voting.'"
"It's the first time I've felt hopeful in this state for a very long time and regardless of who they're voting for, I'm proud that the state is finally showing up and voting."
After stressing the importance of early voting and reminding young voters to be mindful of Tennessee's strict voter ID laws, she laughed and said:
"I'm so tickled. Twice while I was in line, people yelled out, 'First time voter!' and everybody cheered and it was crazy. ... No matter what, just seeing so many people actually vote in this state gives me hope like I've never had in a long time. Good job, Davidson County!"
You can hear what she said in the video below.
@staciehuckeba Ugly crying while early #voting was not on my Monday bingo card. Im so dang proud!
Many echoed her enthusiasm.
However, some people "scolded her," Huckeba noted in a follow-up video, for saying she "doesn't care about who people are voting for" because of the threat former President Donald Trump poses to our democratic institutions.
To that, she responded:
"We have 20 other things on the ballot today. I had just walked out of there, I wasn't just thinking about the two parties at the top of the ticket, I was thinking about the whole ballot."
"When I say I'm a 'super voter,' I'm a super voter. I'm passionate about local and state elections. I know all my city council people on a first-name basis. ... I'm a well-informed voter and one thing I know about voting is that when we do it, it works."
"Take a state like Texas. Texas was hardcore blue dog Democrat for over 100 years and it wasn't until George W. Bush and Karl Rove came in that they flipped that state in one election. If they can do that in one election in a state like Texas, then the Democrats can do that in a state like Tennessee."
"We are not a red state. We are a non-voting state. I know that the odds are that the more people come out to vote, I know where the popular vote's going to go."
You can hear what she said in the video below.
@staciehuckeba Replying to @You know I’m right
Tennessee’s Secretary of State has released early voting figures for the first four days leading up to the November 5 Presidential election, comparing the data to early voting trends from 2020 and 2016.
A total of 182,208 people cast early votes across 27 counties in East Tennessee from Oct. 16 to Oct. 19. Knox County recorded the highest turnout with 46,242 ballots, while Hancock County saw the lowest with 467. Greene County had the largest increase in voter turnout from 2020, with a 24.51% rise, while Scott County saw a decrease of 16.93%.
In comparing 2016 to 2024, all but one county experienced increases of more than 15%. Sullivan County dropped by 1.88%, while Carter County saw the largest increase, with a 180.64% jump in voters between 2016 and 2024.
@jessicachastain/Instagram
