Christian County Clerk Mike Kem is set to speak Monday night at a local League of Women Voters meeting, where he will outline plans for the November general election.
Kem said he’ll discuss absentee mail-in voting, which he recommends, in addition to early voting and plans for at least four large polling places on Nov. 3.
A limited number of people will be able to attend the league meeting in person because of social distancing guidelines. Everyone who attends will be required to wear a mask. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at the Hopkinsville Water Environment Authority’s McKenzie-Moss Water Treatment board room, 1000 Metcafle Lane.
Anyone wanting to attend the meeting should pre-register by contacting Henrietta Kemp at kvkemp@yahoo.com or 270-886-3776.
The public will also be able to watch a livestream video of the meeting on the league’s Facebook page.
Christian District Judge Foster Cotthoff will also speak to explain constitutional amendments on the November ballot that deal with judicial officials and their terms of office.
There will be three phases to the general election, said Deputy County Clerk Melinda Humprhies, who oversees local elections.
The first phase is absentee voting by mail. The state is accepting applications until Oct. 9 from voters who want an absentee ballot mailed to their home. County clerks across the state are scheduled to receive the ballots next week, and they will process and send them out in the mail. Christian County voters may hand-deliver their ballots to a drop-off box at the courthouse. If they return the ballot in the mail, it must be postmarked no later than Nov. 3.
The second phase will be early in-person voting. The state has directed local officials to begin early voting by Oct. 13. Early voting will be conducted at the Christian County Courthouse, 511 S. Main St., and the Christian County Sheriff’s Department, 710 W. Seventh St.
The third phase is in-person voting on Election Day. Election officials expect to have seven polling places for the Nov. 3 general election. In addition to the courthouse and the sheriff’s department, the polling places will be: James E. Bruce Convention Center, 303 Conference Center Drive; Christian County Senior Citizens Center, 1402 S. Seventh St.; Valor Hall Conference and Event Center, 105 Walter Garrett Lane, Oak Grove; Pembroke Baptist Church, 144 S. Main St.; Sinking Fork Baptist Church, 5800 Princeton Road; and Crofton City Hall, 101 E. Mill St. Voters may use any of those regardless of their home address.
(This story has been updated with new information about polling places.)
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.
