Five percent of the 56,018 registered voters listed on Christian County’s rolls cast a ballot in early voting this week, Deputy County Clerk Melinda Humphries told Hoptown Chronicle shortly after the polling place at the sheriff’s department closed Saturday afternoon.
Humphries said 2,821 people voted in the first week Kentucky allowed early, in-person voting. That included 432 who voted on Saturday.
If the trend continues, Christian County appears to be on track to set new, high marks for voter turnout in recent history. (In 2016, the last presidential election, 44.3% of 50,265 registered voters cast a ballot in Christian County, according to then-Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes’ report.)
Humphries said she hoped the county would double the turnout next week since a second early voting location will open at the Christian County Senior Citizens Center.
The state has expanded voting options because of the coronavirus pandemic. Voters do not need a special reason, such as planned medical procedures or working out of town, to vote early.
Early voting will continue from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday for the next two weeks and on Monday, Nov. 3, at both the sheriff’s department, 701 W. Seventh St., and the senior center, 1402 W. Seventh St.
Polls will be open at seven locations on Election Day, Nov. 3.
In addition to in-person voting, roughly 5,000 voters requested absentee, mail-in ballots, County Clerk Mike Kem previously said.
Everyone must wear a mask to go into a polling place, and election workers are checking temperatures as voters arrive.
Senate Bill 2, which went into effect in July, also requires voters to have a photo ID. Previously in Kentucky, a voter could use a non-photo ID or be a personal acquittance of a poll worker. A guide from the Secretary of State’s office outlines the new law and the types of acceptable ID, including a driver’s license, a military ID or a college ID.
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.
