LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Primary elections in 2020 will forever live in history books, as COVID-19 made voting in person a last resort for many voters, and mail in votes the majority.
Here in Kentucky, thousands of votes were not counted and Mitz Nabekura is one of them.
"Sure enough they were saying they didn't get it in time so it never got counted, and it was very frustrating," Nabekura said.
After requesting an absentee ballot, he didn't receive it for weeks. Once he sent it back, it was too late. WHAS11 spoke to him back in June after he found out, and now he is excited about the plan that was just announced. The last thing he wants is for that to ever happen again. Especially, as someone who gained their citizenship in 2006, and values the power of the vote.
"The first presidential election that I was able to vote was 2008, so this is very important to me," Mitz said.
When he heard Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams and Democratic Governor Andy Beshear had come up with a plan that resolved some of his biggest worries, he was relieved.
"At times it's like tough, that's just the way it is and you have to live with it. This time I feel like they heard our concerns. Safety concerns and democracy," Mitz said.
Absentee ballots by mail are still going to be available come November if you're concerned with COVID-19.
"That means that either if you are concerned about your own health or you are concerned with those you come into contact with, and spreading, you have this option,' Beshear said Friday.
An online portal is being launched in less than a week where you can request yours to be sent to your home.
Adams and Beshear had two goals in mind when making this plan.
"How do we make sure everyone is kept safe and how do we make sure people aren't disenfranchised by this virus," Adams said.
Which is why early voting will begin three weeks before the election, starting on October 13th.
"The secretary's proposal has the most robust early voting period we've seen in my lifetime," Beshear said.
When it's time for election day, every county will have at least one voting super-center, along with other approved election sites. And to top it off, if you were unable to get your drivers license or photo ID because of the pandemic, you can still vote.
Mitz is grateful for these changes and the impact they will have on Kentuckians ability to vote, especially because the plan was made with bipartisan support.
"At the news conference they said we put the politics aside and what is best for the Kentuckians, that's what we're going to concentrate on so I thought that was very encouraging," Mitz said.
"From the first moment, both he and I put party aside completely, and looked at the facts rationally," Adams said.
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