The number of Christian countians who voted in each of the last three presidential elections ranged from roughly 22,000 to 23,000 — and in each of those elections there were limited options for early voting. Usually a voter had to sign an affidavit stating they would be out of the county on Election Day or that they would be unable to go to the polls because of a serious medical issue.
(Photo by Jennifer P. Brown)
This year, with 16 days of early voting already completed through Friday, and with more leniency offered during the coronavirus pandemic to those wanting to cast absentee ballots, 15,364 votes had been cast through Friday in Christian County.
County Clerk Mike Kem said he’s still predicting at least 25,000 people will vote in this election. The final tally will depend on how many people go to the polls for the last two days of early voting, which are today and Monday, and how many turn out Tuesday for Election Day. Kem noted the weather forecast favors good turnout for the next few days.
“They are going to be good, sunny days,” he said Friday evening.
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The early totals through Friday included 11,078 people voting in-person and another 4,286 absentee ballots returned to the courthouse, Deputy County Clerk Melinda Humphries told Hoptown Chronicle.
The clerk’s office mailed out 5,140 absentee ballots requested by Christian County voters, so approximately 17% of those had yet to be returned. They must be returned by Election Day, or be postmarked by Nov. 3 and received by the clerk no later than Nov. 6 to be counted.
More than 353K ballots already cast statewide
Across the country, election officials are reporting record early turnout.
In Kentucky, Democrats were voting by absentee ballot at more than twice the rate of Republicans, while Republicans had an edge on Democrats for going to the polls for early voting, The Associated Press recently reported. Through Oct. 20, 282,000 Democrats and 116,000 Republicans had voted by absentee ballots. State election officials reported 655,562 absentee ballots were sent out.
In early, in-person voting, 197,300 GOP voters and 156,000 Democrats had been to the polls through Oct. 20, according to AP’s report.
Increased voter turnout “should make everyone want to have early voting,” Kem said.
News reports in many areas of the country have shown voters waiting in long lines to cast ballots in early voting. So far, that has not been an issue in Christian County, said Kem.
Two early polling places, the Christian County Sheriff’s Department and the Christian County Senior Citizens Center, have been able to handle the demand. Kem said he keeps encouraging people to use the senior center because it is larger and has more parking. Many people seem to be unaware of the location, so Kem tells them, “It’s on West Seventh just past the Dodge Store.”
County turnout historically low because of inflated rolls
Christian County’s voter turnout in the last three presidential elections was:
- 2016 — 22,413 of 50,265 registered voters for 44.6%
- 2012 — 21,984 of 43,838 registered voters for 50.1%
- 2008 — 22,920 of 39,061 registered voters for 58.7%
Christian County’s 2016 turnout was the second worst showing among Kentucky’s 120 counties, according to the state Board of Election’s records. Only Fulton County, with 43.7%, had a lower turnout.
Kem said the county’s turnout has looked poor for several years because there are a large number of voters listed on the rolls who never intended to vote here. Many of them are Fort Campbell soldiers and their family members, said Kem, who estimates 10,000 of the 56,018 voters listed on the county’s current roll have moved away or continue to vote absentee in their hometowns.
He attributes the problem to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, also known as the motor voter law. It allows anyone obtaining a driver’s license to register to vote at the same time. Many of the soldiers and the relatives who are new to the area automatically answer “yes” when given that option but don’t stay in the area long enough to become voters here, Kem believes.
And based on population estimates, there are not even 56,000 people living in Christian County who are old enough to vote. The county’s population is 70,461, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 count, and of those 27.1% are younger than 18. That means 19,000 residents have not reached the legal voting age, according to the census.
Early voting continues continues until 4 p.m. Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday.
Seven polling places will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday for Election Day. Even if a large number of voters have waited until Tuesday to cast their ballots in-person, Kem doesn’t expect any problems.
“I think with those seven (polls), we are not going to have any long lines,” he said.
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.
