As a former military wife, Amy Cox was accustomed to voting by absentee ballot. She had mailed in paper ballots at least twice from out-of-state and once from England.
This year, living back in Hopkinsville, she used an absentee ballot made available to all Kentuckians because of the coronavirus, and she hand-delivered her ballot to the Christian County Courthouse.
“We took it over to the courthouse, had a temperature check and dropped it off. The deputy said, ‘Thank you for your vote,’ and we came home,” Cox said.
In this year’s general election, Cox was one of 5,140 registered voters in Christian County who requested an absentee ballot.
“I think we should be able to do this every time,” she said.
As of Monday morning, 3,573 of the absentee ballots had been returned to the Christian County Clerk’s Office, and 7,077 voters had cast ballots at the early voting locations, Deputy County Clerk Melinda Humphries told Hoptown Chronicle.
Hopkinsville attorney Sarah Brechwald said she voted by absentee ballot because she wasn’t sure how long she might have to wait in line at a polling place. She has three young children, so lining up a caregiver not knowing how long it would take to vote didn’t make sense this year, she said.
Brechwald believes voting in person is safe but requiring everyone to vote on the same day is not the best way to ensure all voters have an equal chance to cast their ballot.
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“I hope that these options continue in the future. It’s helpful for people to have multiple safe options,” she said.
Jane Wells, another local voter who used an absentee ballot in this election, said she also liked the convenience. Wells has been voting since 1968 and said she does enjoy going to the polls and expects she will again.
“I would not fear walking in there and casting my ballot at all,” she said. But for voters who cannot risk exposure to the virus and for those who have trouble getting off work on Election Day, the flexibility of this general election with absentee and early voting is something Wells hopes Kentucky will keep doing.
Early voting continues 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. today through Saturday and on Monday, Nov. 2, at the sheriff’s department, 701 W. Seventh St., and at the Christian County Senior Citizens Center, 1402 W. Seventh St.
Seven polling places will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3.
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.
