Commissioners counted 47,679 signatures as valid, exceeding the 40,194 required to put the question on the ballot. The petition drive, led by Restore Our Fairgrounds, submitted more than 74,000 signatures in September; 27,567 were rejected. The commission voted 4-0 to approve the petition, with one commissioner abstaining.

The measure would remove racing as a charter-protected use of the Fairgrounds. Restore Our Fairgrounds has advocated replacing that protection with a vision that includes affordable housing and green space, but the coalition has not identified who would pay for changes to the racetrack.

Voters approved a 2011 referendum protecting racing at the Fairgrounds. Since then, races have been infrequent, and it has been more than 40 years since the venue hosted a NASCAR Cup Series race. Recent interest in a possible NASCAR return has renewed debate over the track’s future.

The petition’s opponents have challenged both its purpose and the signature-gathering process. Decline to Sign sent the commission a letter alleging that the campaign was “rife with fraud,” along with sworn statements from residents who said they did not sign or authorize signatures in their names. The letter also questioned signatures attributed to people who no longer live in Tennessee.

Those allegations have not been established as fact. Petition supporters disputed claims of widespread misconduct, saying they collected signatures through thousands of canvasser shifts and removed requests they could verify. Coalition co-founder Saul Solomon told commissioners, “We didn’t dupe 75,000 people into signing these petitions.”

Some residents, including Council member Olivia Hill, have said canvassers misrepresented the petition by emphasizing affordable housing while failing to explain its effect on racing. A coalition representative told commissioners that incidents shown in videos of canvassers were isolated and that some videos were fake, but offered no evidence for the latter claim.

A court show-cause hearing is scheduled for Oct. 27 to consider whether withdrawn signatures may be counted. Opponents asked the commission to delay its decision until the court rules. Commission counsel said the charter process required a decision within 30 days of the petition’s submission.

Commissioner Kenny Byrd also faced calls to recuse himself because of earlier work with a group seeking to remove racing as a required Fairgrounds activity. Byrd said that effort differed from the current petition and that he received no compensation. He voted to approve the petition, saying the decision would return the question to voters.