Registration for Iraq vote starts today amid concerns (NASHVILLE)

http://tennessean.com/local/archives/05/01/64228830.shtml?Element_ID=64228830


By SHEILA BURKE, Staff Writer


Registration for Iraq out-of-country voting will begin today with lingering concerns about safety in the Woodbine neighborhood of Nashville.


An expected 16,000 Iraqi expatriates from around the Southeastern United States are expected to cast their ballots at the end of this month in Nashville. But some community leaders are concerned about logistics.


One of them is Metro Councilwoman Amanda McClendon, who said she and her constituents in Woodbine are concerned that the plan is not secure.


''It just doesn't seem very well-thought-out,'' the councilwoman said yesterday of the plans to use Coleman Community Center as a voting location. The community center, which sits at Thompson Lane and Nolensville Road, is at one of the busiest intersections in town and is next to a public library and about a block away from St. Edward Church and School, she said. City officials, she said, should have chosen a more secure voting location, such as the Metro police South Precinct or the National Guard Armory.

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Nashville has the largest population of Kurds in the U.S. and if anyone wanted to spoil the state-side vote, this would be an obvious place. I would be surprised if there were any follow-up from the newspaper if there were problems.