FRANKFORT, Ky. — The November general election is less than 100 days away and leaders in Kentucky may be ready to roll out their game plan. A working group started planning after the June Primary.
About 800,000 Kentuckians voted in the primary; a state record. Processing well more than a half-million absentee ballots taxed clerks to the limit, the Board of Election leader says.
The board anticipates nearly two million will vote in November and that includes well over one million ballots mailed in creating a big concern about the workload.
"At the end of the day the outcome is going to be a safe election, a successful election and an election in which everybody feels their vote and their voice has been heard," Kentucky Board of Election Chairman Ben Chandler says.
Chandlers says there's a special meeting later this week to vote on recommendations from the working group. Chandler wouldn't reveal details.
However, WHAS11 Chris Williams learned from multiple sources some of the options possibly being considered:
- An online portal could be ready by the middle of August similar to the one used in the primary, which allowed voters to request absentee ballots. The portal would allow for a "medical" excuse potentially including COVID-19 concerns.
- Kentucky law has strict guidelines for who can request an absentee or mail-in ballot. There is a debate as to when those ballots would need to arrive at clerk's offices to be counted.
- In early October three weeks of early in-person voting at clerks offices would begin, and unlike the primary, there would be no appointment necessary.
- Early voting close a week before the General Election
- In-person voting at polling places would take place, as scheduled on November 3rd.
- Counties would be required to have more than one polling location even though all involved suspect there will be limited poll volunteers available.
"It's very important that we have a successful election because people have to have faith in the outcomes of their election our democracy depends upon it," Chandler says.
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