As Tennessee reeled from a deadly tornado that has claimed lives and crushed buildings, a Nashville judge issued an eleventh-hour order extending all Davidson County polling sites to ensure that storm-ravaged families have a chance to vote.

Polls that were initially planned to close at 7 p.m. will now stay open until at least 8 p.m. CT, ordered Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle.

Five large polling sites will remain open until 10 p.m. CT.

Those five sites are:

Election commission office, 1417 Murfreesboro Pike.

Howard Office Building, 700 Second Ave. S.

Cleveland Community Center, 610 Vernon Winfrey Ave.

Donelson Presbyterian Church, 2305 Lebanon Pike.

Pearl Cohn High School, 904 26th Ave. N.

The ruling came at the request of four of the top Democratic presidential campaigns, along with the Tennessee Democratic Party. The groups filed suit in a Nashville court on Tuesday to extend poll times amid heavy tornado damage throughout the city.

On Super Tuesday afternoon, lawyers representing the campaigns of Joe Biden, Mike Bloomberg, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren filed for a temporary restraining order in Davidson County Chancery Court, said attorney Stephen Zralek.

The lawsuit was against Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett and the Davidson County Election Commission, said attorney Dave Garrison, working on behalf of the state Democratic Party.

Shortly before 5 p.m. Hargett said his office was still trying to "sort through" the ruling.

"We're trying to figure what it means to people whose voting precincts were closed and where they will vote," he told The Tennessean in a telephone interview.

Hargett said another question that remains unanswered is whether voters will be eligible to vote if their polling stations were initially unaffected by closures.

"We're trying to sort through that and get some guidance from the Davidson County Election Commission," he said.

Hargett noted the delayed voting will impact the release of totals in Davidson County. "State law says you can't release early voting results while people are still voting," he said.

The state's 94 other counties will be able to begin reporting early voting totals when polls close.

Jeff Roberts, the Davidson County elections administrator, was unavailable for comment.

Zralek, who is representing the Biden campaign, said the group asked for polling places to remain open until 10 p.m. CT.

"Every voter in Nashville that is affected by the tornado, this is giving them the opportunity to do what they need to do, take care of their families and also select who they want to be president," Zralek said.

Hobbs Lyle made the ruling after an emergency hearing.

"This means that democracy won, because people are going to be given the opportunity to vote," Garrison said.

Garrison stressed the significance that four competing Democratic campaigns had come together to file a legal challenge to keep the polls open.

"What we saw was four rival presidential candidates campaigns come together of the principle of making sure that everyone has every opportunity the government can give them to vote," Garrison said.

Wallace Dietz, an attorney for Bloomberg campaign, said "these principles are really important."

"So many people had their lives turned upside down this morning, and last night, and Chancellor Lyle came up with a very tailored solution to the problem and we are grateful," Dietz said.

Tornado damage has shuttered 21 polling places in Nashville, leading to long lines at alternate "super sites" that now must accommodate an unexpected influx of Super Tuesday voters.

The deadly storm damaged several polling sites in Nashville, prompting the election commission to set up alternative locations for displaced voters.

The Howard Office Building was one such location. On Tuesday afternoon, the long line wound through the 4th floor hallway of the multistory building.

Voters anticipated about an hour-long wait.

Those in the 60-plus person deep queue directed new arrivals to the end of it while they waited their turn at the voting machine.

Some who got off the elevator turned around and left as soon as they saw the long line.

Along with dozens of others, Brigid and Deshae Caldwell and their 9-year-old son Orion chose to stay.

“There are always obstacles to voting. You can’t let that stop you,” Deshae Caldwell said.

They also wanted to lead by example for their son.

“As a kid, my parents would always bring us to the polls and we’ve always brought him with us too. So we’ve got to show him that it’s worth standing in line,” Brigid Caldwell said.

Their regular polling site, Hermitage Presbyterian Church, was not able to open following the storm. The couple showed up around 8 a.m. and then tried another polling location where they were directed to the Howard Office Building.

They had a message for the rest of the country:

“Nashville and are resilient and the storm won’t keep us from trying to represent ourselves in the big race,” Deshae Caldwell said.

In Tuesday's complaint, the attorneys argued because polls that were originally set to open at 7 a.m. were delayed until 8 a.m., some voters showed up at the original time only to be unable to cast a ballot. Others' polling places were closed altogether, requiring voters to go to alternate sites.

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The plaintiffs argue that "immediate and irreparable harm" would likely occur to some voters' federal and constitutional rights if the polls are not left open later.

At the Cleveland Community Center in East Nashville, a "super site" that is absorbing voters from five closed sites, long lines of voters stretched the length of the gymnasium Tuesday morning.

“People are voting in spite of everything that happened last night," Nashville Council member Sean Parker said, referring to a deadly sweep of tornadoes that killed at least 22 people across the state. "I think that speaks to how important this election is to people.”

And election administrator Jeff Roberts expects crowds will get bigger as the day wears on.

Election commission officials are scrambling to double the number of voting machines to the locations that are now handling larger crowds. That effort is complicated by logistical challenges.

“What we’re up against is how big is the room, can we even get that many in the room?" Roberts said.

Roberts said people looking for shorter lines should come to one of the two alternate "mega sites" open to anyone in the city: the election commission office at 1417 Murfreesboro Pike or the Howard Office Building at 700 Second Ave. S.

“They could be the first person in line," Roberts said.

Super Tuesday voting started an hour late in Nashville and Wilson County due to extensive tornado damage across the region.

They will still close as scheduled at 7 p.m.

Nashville election officials have announced several alternate polling sites to accommodate the damage.

Voters at the following locations can vote at Pearl Cohn High School:

Robert Churchwell Elementary

Fifteenth Ave Baptist Church

Union Hall 737

Watkins Community Center

Voters at the following locations should go to Donelson Presbyterian instead:

Dupont Tyler Middle School

Hermitage Presbyterian Church

Hermitage Hills Baptist Church

Hermitage Community Center

Tennessee School for the Blind

Two Rivers Middle School

Donelson Heights United Methodist Church

Hermitage Elementary School

Ruby Major Elementary School

Central Pike Church of Christ

Voters who normally go to the following locations should vote at Cleveland Community Center:

Ross Elementary School

East regional Community Center

Shelby Community Center

Martha O’Bryan Center

Cora Howe School

McFerrin Community Center

Haynes Middle School will vote at Whites Creek Fire Station 25.

Looby Community Center will vote at Northwest YMCA.

Lead Brick Church Middle School will vote at Bellshire Elementary School.

In Wilson County, voting was closed at Lebanon High School, West Wilson Middle School and West Wilson Elementary. Voters there can go to any other polling place as needed.

Nashville courts were closed due to the damage, but a state court official said a plan was in place in case any election-related legal challenges arose.

Joel Ebert and Holly Meyer contributed to this report.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Reach Adam Tamburin at 615-726-5986 and atamburin@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter @tamburintweets.