The number and location of polling places for the November general election will likely be determined at the next meeting of the Christian County Board of Elections on July 25.
“I feel confident we will make a decision then,” County Clerk Melinda Humphries told Hoptown Chronicle.
Humphries said she doesn’t want to push the decision to the August meeting because her office needs to begin preparations for the general election.
The four election board members — Humphries, Sheriff Tyler DeArmond, Democratic representative Marvin Denison and Republican representative Philip Eastman — will consider data from the two most recent elections, said Humphries.
The data include the number of ballots cast at 16 voting centers in November’s general election and in the May primary.
One option under consideration is eliminating a few polling places inside the Hopkinsville city limits that had some of the lowest numbers, such as Friendship House and Cedar Grove Baptist Church. Humphries said 71 ballots were cast at Friendship House and 87 at Cedar Grove in the May primary.
Last summer, ahead of the November general election, the board voted to double the number of polling places in Christian County, from eight to 16, that would be open on election day. That decision followed complaints from some who said they didn’t understand that all of the pre-pandemic precincts wouldn’t be open in the May 2022 primary.
Serving older, economically disadvantaged communities
Friendship House and Cedar Grove were added at the urging of the local League of Women Voters and others who wanted to provide a polling place for residents in older and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods — specifically Cedar Grove for the Eastside Neighborhood.
Friendship House is an apartment building on the campus of Christian Care Communities for senior citizens, many of whom rely on family, friends or Hopkinsville Transit for transportation. But Humphries noted there are other senior living facilities now in Hopkinsville and some of them might also want the convenience afforded to Christian Care Communities.
League president Nikki Chambers said she plans to attend the next meeting but isn’t sure if she will make a statement this time on behalf of specific polling places.
There are more factors to consider than just voter numbers, she said, acknowledging that it could be difficult to keep a polling place open if it serves a small number of voters.
Expanded voting options
Another issue is getting voters to turn out and take advantage of expanded voting options that the Kentucky General Assembly has adopted since the pandemic, including three days of early voting.
“That’s going to be a long process, reaching those people who have decided their vote doesn’t matter so they aren’t going to vote,” Chambers told Hoptown Chronicle.
Humphries said voters who have difficulty getting to the polls could consider voting by mail. In Kentucky, any voter who says they have difficulties because of age, disability or illness may vote by mail.
“If you are 25 years old and feel like you can’t get to the polls, we are not going to question that,” Humphries said.
Election board considerations
In addition to the number of ballots cast at each of the 16 polling places, the election board will look at other factors, such as the number of voting machines at each site, the distance between sites and the location of sites outside the city limits.
The Kentucky governor’s race between incumbent Democrat Andy Beshear and Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron will be the main draw for voters in the general election. Traditionally voters turn out in much larger numbers for the presidential election every four years.
“But you’ve got to prepare like every election is a presidential election,” Humphries said.
The election board meeting begins at 2 p.m. in the fiscal courtroom on the second floor of the Christian County Courthouse, 511 S. Main St. It is a public meeting and citizens may address the board.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
