Over 9,000 Madison Countians voted early

Nov. 7—Blake Vickers

More than 9,000 Madison Countians voted early this year, according to the Kentucky Board of Elections.

Data regarding this past week's early voting from the state's board of elections revealed 7,662 Madison Countians cast their vote in no-excuse in person early voting, 3,496 of those voters were democrats while 3,663 were republicans.

The total number of mail in ballots applications in the county numbered 1,943.

More than 1,000 applications were from democrats and 694 were from republicans. Of that number, 1,456 mail in ballots were returned — 823 from democratic voters and 546 from republican voters.

The numbers totaled out to a 74.94% return rate for mail in ballots in Madison County.

According to election data, 187 people in Madison County voted through excused in person early voting. Eighty-five of the voters were democrats, while 89 were republicans.

All in all, 9,313 early votes were cast in the county.

Early in-person voting in the county began on Nov. 3 and ended on Nov. 5.

Over the course of those three days, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., registered voters cast their votes at the Madison County Public Library Richmond branch, the Russell Acton Folk Center, and the Madison County Extension Office.

"We had about 10% turnout for all voting so far. The Secretary of State (Michael Adams) said that we'll have 40%. I think we'll have 45% or 46% turnout for Madison County," Madison County Clerk Kenny Barger said.

The Madison County Public Library was particularly busy last week. The clerk's office encouraged Richmond voters on Saturday to utilize the extension office to try and ease the strain on election officers at the library due to the high volume.

Due to a high number of voters utilizing the library, Barger said that another location in Richmond will need to be added for the next round of early voting.

"We took one more machine to every location on Wednesday so we could get more people turned out. The library voted about 1,000 more than the Russel Acton Folk Center and the Madison County Extension Office. (The library) in the most populous part of the county, too. But we're gonna have to get some more precinct officers and have another location in Richmond for early voting," Barger said.

According to the county clerk, the library was made a voting precinct due to its location on a public bus route. The location was chosen so that voters without transportation can easily vote in the election.

For registered voters who did not take part in early voting, Tuesday will be the last day to cast their ballots for this election.

From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Nov. 8, registered voters will be able to cast their votes at any of the following eight locations.

The Madison County Public Library in Richmond, located at 507 West Main Street.

The Russell Acton Folk Center in Berea, located at 212 West Jefferson Street.

The Madison County Extension Office in Richmond, located at 230 Duncannon Lane.

White Hall Baptist Church in Richmond, located at 3401 Colonel Road.

Eastside Community Church in Richmond, located at 2010 Catalpa Loop.

Big Hill Christian Church at 1150 Goggins Lane.

Berea Church of God at 189 Rash Road.

Arlington's Mule Barn at 1510 Lexington Road.

Barger said all of the voting equipment worked "flawlessly" over the course of the early voting period.

Two statewide ballot measures are also going to be up for a vote this election season. Barger has been consistent in encouraging voters read up on the measures beforehand, Amendment 1 in particular, to get an idea of how they will vote for them.

"Please be prepared. The first amendment on the ballot is 900 words. That's what will create lines. We can check people in 30 seconds. The line is created when people don't come prepared and read that entire amendment," Barger said. "Have your ID in hand and please come prepared."

Amendment 1, if voters vote yes to allow it, would permit special legislative sessions to be called for up to 12 days by the speaker of the house and senate president. It would also remove end dates for legislative sessions, allow state legislatures to change the end date of legislative sessions via a three-fifths vote in the state house and senate, and limit odd and even year sessions to be limited to 30 and 60 legislative days, respectively.

The amendment has been harshly criticized by Governor Andy Beshear, who called it a "power grab" by the republican dominated state legislature. Opponents to the amendment have also said the it would allow state lawmakers to call special sessions (which cost around $68,000 per day) for "pet projects" and that special sessions should be reserved for emergencies.

Those in favor of the amendment say it would allow the state legislature to meet longer in the year and balance the power between legislators and the governor.

As it stands currently, Kentucky is one of 14 states where the ability to call special sessions lies solely with the governor.

A "yes" vote on amendment 1 is in favor of the amendment passing.

Amendment 2, if enough yes votes are obtained, would amend the Kentucky Constitution to state that it does not provide the right to or public funding for abortions.

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade this past summer, ballot initiatives regarding abortion rights have appeared on multiple state ballots. Although Kentucky is already enforcing a near-total abortion ban, the ballot initiative would further challenge lawsuits against the ban that are slated to have hearings in court shortly after the election on Nov. 15.

A "yes" vote on amendment 2 is in favor of the amendment passing.