Today is Election Day. If your commercial property in Tennessee is hosting a polling location, your security posture for the next 14 hours needs to be different from any other Tuesday this year.
The 2016 presidential election has been, by any measure, one of the most contentious in recent memory. Passions run high on both sides. Tennessee, while reliably red in presidential races, contains pockets of intense political energy: Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville all have activist communities that show up loudly when they feel the stakes are high enough.
For property managers, today isn’t about politics. It’s about protecting your building, your tenants, and the people passing through your space.
Why Polling Locations Create Risk
Tennessee uses a mix of public and private buildings as polling places. Churches account for the largest share, followed by community centers, schools, and commercial properties. Shelby County alone operates over 200 polling locations on Election Day, and a meaningful percentage of those sit inside privately owned commercial buildings.
When your property becomes a polling location, several things change simultaneously. Foot traffic increases dramatically: a busy precinct can process 1,500 to 2,000 voters during a single Election Day. Those voters are arriving in clusters during morning and evening rush hours, which means your parking lot absorbs twice its normal load during the exact hours your tenants need those spaces.
The crowd composition changes too. Polling locations draw from the surrounding neighborhood, which means your building is pulling in people who may never have set foot on your property before. Most are there to vote and leave. Some linger. A few show up with agendas that have nothing to do with casting a ballot.
Campaign workers station themselves at the legal distance from the entrance (25 feet in Tennessee per T.C.A. Section 2-7-111). They hand out literature, hold signs, and occasionally get into arguments with voters or opposing campaign volunteers. Most interactions stay civil. The ones that don’t can escalate quickly when people feel passionately about the outcome.
Historical Patterns
Property damage specifically linked to Election Day is relatively rare in Tennessee. Vandalism to campaign signs, graffiti, and the occasional confrontation in a parking lot represent the typical incident profile. After the 2012 election, Memphis PD reported a handful of minor incidents at or near polling locations, mostly verbal disputes between campaign workers.
The concern this cycle is different. Both presidential campaigns have generated intensity that exceeds recent precedent. Memphis and Nashville have seen protest activity throughout 2016 that occasionally resulted in property damage downtown. Whether that energy translates to Election Day incidents at polling locations is uncertain, and that uncertainty is exactly why preparation matters.
Post-election is the period that worries me more than the day itself. Regardless of which candidate wins, a portion of the electorate will be angry. Protests in downtown Memphis and Nashville are likely within 48 hours of the result being called. Property near government buildings, courthouses, and public squares faces elevated risk during that window.
Practical Steps for Today
If your property is a polling location, here’s what should already be in place. If it isn’t, some of these can still be implemented this morning.
Coordinate with local law enforcement. Memphis PD and Metro Nashville PD both assign officers to high-volume polling locations. Call your local precinct and confirm whether your location has been assigned coverage. If it hasn’t, request it. Squeaky wheels get patrol attention on days like today.
Increase your guard presence. If you have contract security, add shifts for today. A guard positioned at or near the polling entrance from 6 AM through closing serves two purposes: they deter confrontations between campaign workers, and they provide a visible security presence that reassures your tenants.
One guard for a small property. Two for anything with more than one entrance or a large parking area. If your normal contract doesn’t cover Election Day, call your provider. Most security companies in the Memphis and Nashville markets expect these calls and have personnel available.
Brief your staff. Building managers, maintenance crews, and front desk personnel should know the basics: where the polling area is, where the campaign workers are allowed to stand, who to call if a situation escalates, and that their job today is observation and de-escalation, not confrontation.
Document everything. Run your camera systems. If you have recording capability, make sure it’s active and storage has been cleared to handle a full day of footage. Take photos of your property’s exterior before polls open. If damage occurs, you want a clear before-and-after record for insurance purposes.
Protect tenant access. Your tenants still need to run their businesses. Designate parking areas for voters that don’t interfere with tenant spaces. Post clear signage. If your building has a shared entrance, consider directing voter foot traffic through a different door than your tenants normally use.
Lock what doesn’t need to be open. Secondary entrances, storage areas, vacant suites, rooftop access. Anything that isn’t essential for polling operations or tenant access should be secured. High foot traffic days are when opportunistic trespassing and theft are most likely.
Memphis and Nashville Specifics
Memphis’s polling locations in Shelby County skew heavily toward churches and community buildings, but several precincts vote in strip malls and commercial office buildings along corridors like Poplar Avenue, Summer Avenue, and Lamar Avenue. Property managers along these routes should expect parking congestion and plan accordingly.
Downtown Memphis around the Shelby County Election Commission office on Vance Avenue sees heavy early-voting traffic that will carry over to Election Day. Properties within a few blocks of that location face the highest concentration of politically motivated foot traffic.
Nashville’s polling locations spread across Davidson County, with heavy concentrations along major corridors. The area around the downtown courthouse and Legislative Plaza draws protest activity after elections regardless of outcome. Commercial properties in the Gulch, SoBro, and along Broadway should consider post-election security planning for the 48-hour window after results are announced.
Insurance Considerations
Review your property insurance policy today. Specifically:
- Does your policy cover damage from civil disturbance or protest activity? Some commercial policies exclude this under civil commotion clauses.
- Is your liability coverage adequate if a voter or campaign worker is injured on your property? Your status as a polling location may create additional duty-of-care obligations.
- Document your current property condition. Photos and video of the exterior, parking lot, signage, and entry points before polls open protect you if a claim arises later.
If you discover a coverage gap today, you can’t fix it before the polls close. What you can do is increase your physical security presence and documentation to reduce the likelihood of an incident and strengthen your position if one occurs.
After the Polls Close
Tennessee polls close at 7 PM Central, 8 PM Eastern. The immediate post-closing period, roughly 7 PM to midnight, is when emotions peak as results come in. If your property hosted a polling location, the physical space should be cleared and secured within an hour of closing.
Campaign materials left behind are your responsibility to remove. Signs, literature, and debris in your parking lot or on your sidewalk need to be cleaned up promptly. Leaving them invites vandalism.
For the 48 hours following the election, maintain elevated awareness. Walk your property daily. Check for graffiti, damage, or unauthorized activity. Keep your camera systems running. If protests materialize in your area, be prepared to restrict access to your building.
Election Day is one day. The aftermath can last a week. Plan for both.