“Jefferson County has a
population of roughly 767,000 and will have just one polling location”
“Most of the state's 120 counties will have just one polling location. That includes the most populous county, Jefferson, home to Louisville. ‘About 1 in 5 residents in the county is African American, the largest black population in the state,’ the Post noted. ‘This is going to be a disaster,’ tweeted author and voting rights expert Ari Berman, and People For the American Way president Ben Jealous said the scenario represented ‘our next electoral nightmare.’
“Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, after reaching an agreement with Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams, unveiled in April an executive order loosening restrictions on who can receive an absentee ballot in light of the coronavirus pandemic. The order also allowed counties to open a singular polling site regardless of a county's population.
“Local NPR affiliate WVIK reported: ‘In a ruling issued
Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Charles Simpson said there was no evidence
that only having one polling location in the affected counties would result in
voter suppression. Comprehensive plans were put in place which included making
absentee ballots available for all voters, providing early in-person voting
options for 15 days leading up to Election Day, and establishing a polling
place for Election Day in-person voting,’ Simpson wrote. ‘This Triple Crown of
voting options wins against the pandemic's risk of disenfranchising the
Kentucky voter.’
“Judge Simpson pointed in his ruling to absentee ballots as a guardrail against voter disenfranchisement, but recent reporting shows cause for concern. Local WDRB reported Friday that some voters in Louisville received absentee ballots in the mail that did not correspond to their party registration. The outlet added: ‘This mistake follows news of a computer coding error that sent out thousands of absentee ballots statewide with the wrong middle initial on voters' names. For some, the error is hurting voter confidence.’ [...]
“‘[Hardin County Clerk Debbie ] Donnelly said she's seeing a common error on ballots coming in through the mail. People are not signing both the ballot envelope and the mailing envelop. Both signatures are required for the vote to count.’ According to the Associated Press, roughly three-quarters of Tuesday's ballots could be mail-in ones. A closely watched race to be decided in Kentucky Tuesday includes state Rep. Charles Booker, Mike Broihier, and establishment-backed Amy McGrath, who are all vying take on McConnell for his long-held Senate seat” (Common Dreams).
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