New voting guidelines set for June 23 primary

On April 24 Gov. Andy Beshear and Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams, both elected in November, announced new Primary Election dates, rescheduling the vote from May 19 to June 23 due to COVID-19 concerns for voters and poll workers.

The recent Wisconsin primary showcased how in-person voting was affected. Most polling places closed due to lack of workers and voters were forced to wait in very long lines to vote on April 7.

And nearly 80 percent of all ballots cast were through the state’s vote-by-mail system, compared to 10 percent in the 2016 primary, according to USA Today.

After seeing the results in Wisconsin, mail in voting was expanded.

According to a new executive order and regulations created by the state Board of Elections, anyone already registered to vote in the primary can vote by mail with an absentee ballot. This was previously only allowed under a few circumstances, such as disability, advanced age, travel, work restrictions or a commitment as a poll worker.

Voting by mail

Anyone who wishes to vote by mail, which state officials prefer for safety concerns, must apply for a ballot through a secure online portal being created by the Kentucky Secretary of State.

Once a ballot is requested, election officials will verify a voter’s signature then mail them a ballot.

An application completed in the online portal, said Shelby County Clerk Sue Carol Perry, will not have to be signed, but the return envelope that contains the ballot must be signed in order for the vote to count, similar to signing the voter role when voting in person in previous elections.

“That portal serves as their application,” she said.

With a small tweak to regulations, the absentee ballot reasons will change to include “a reasonable fear of infection or transmission during” a public emergency declared by the governor.

“While there will be significant education and work required, we are committed to making sure this election will be held in a safe manner while we are in this worldwide pandemic,” Beshear said at a televised virus update last week.

Ballots will not be mailed to every registered voter, only those who request an absentee ballot.

According to the new rules, election officials will mail a postcard May 22 to every registered voter with voting options and to outline how to apply for a mail-in ballot.

Voters who have moved out of state will be contacted before removal from voter rolls in case the move is temporary.

Mail-in votes will be received by each county clerk, a committee will verify the signature on the outer envelope then open the envelope, and election officials will insert ballots into the voting machine in the same way absentee ballots are always handled.

The committee all have day jobs, so ballots will most likely be run through the machine at night or on weekends before election day.

Voting in person

Shelby County typically manages 34 polling places, but that will change for the primary election.

Although plans are in the early stage, Perry intends to offer four polling sites – one in downtown Shelbyville, one in Simpsonville, and sites on on the west side and east side of the county.

The county board is still working on ways to communicate polling locations to the public. Social media, information in The Sentinel-News and perhaps Louisville television stations are key to getting the word out.

However, the latest guidance from the election board requires an appointment to vote early at the clerk’s office by calling in advance for in-person voting, as Centers for Disease Control rules for social distancing will most likely remain in place until at least primary election day.

Perry will watch CDC regulations. “Who knows what the guidelines will be in June. Everything is so uncertain.”

Voters may cast ballots in person until June 23 once final infrastructure and rules are set, which the secretary expects by June 8.

By spacing out the in-person voting over a greater period of time, officials hope to not overwhelm clerks with social distancing practices in mind.

Perry thinks the new rules will be a “nightmare for county clerks.”

Unlike larger counties like Jefferson and Fayette, small county clerk offices must do more than voter registration and manage elections.

“In our office everyone who helps with elections have other duties as well,” she said. “Our department does everything in the office. It’s not like we have a separate election department like in large counties.”

Walk-in voters must still sign an application and the staff must verify the signature compared to the individual’s voter registration card, which will add more work for county clerks.

Stress and verify

The county clerk and a committee made up of Perry, Sheriff Mark Moore, one Republican Party and one Democratic Party representative will verify each signature based on voter registration cards.

The state board will send bar codes for county clerks to place on mail-out ballot return envelopes to trace the ballots from the time they are mailed to voters.

“I want people to know if they don’t sign that outer envelope, the vote doesn‘t get counted because we cannot verify the signature before we open the ballot,” which would negate safeguards, Perry said.

Typically, two to three ballots are cast out due to no signature on the envelope. That number could be much higher since more voters will cast ballots by mail, unless they sign the return envelope.

The state is paying for return postage for ballots by sending envelopes to county clerks with pre-paid postage.

Whenever a clerk mails out a ballot, that ballot bar code and voter name is written in a book before taken to the post office. “It’s ten times more work,” Perry said.

“I’ve done this for forty years and this is the first time I’ve been stressed out.”

Election officials will track absentee ballots, and county clerks with a counting committee will match signatures on absentee ballots and in-person applications to voter signatures on record.

“At our office, all voter registration cards are scanned,” Perry said, so signatures can more easily be verified. “It’s a lot easier than digging through files.”

This safeguard, Adams said, will allay concerns about voter fraud.

“This plan fulfills my promise to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat,” said Adams.

But Perry is already getting calls from voters saying they refuse to mail their vote because they suspect fraud, even though a mere handful of voter fraud cases are prosecuted each election.

“People are yelling about mail fraud, but I can guarantee there will be no fraud on mail-in ballots on the county clerks’ side,” Perry said.

Regulations are being clarified daily, so Perry asks that voters be patient. “This is new for us. We’re stressed out to do everything the right way, which we always have in this office.”

Results

Final election night results will not be possible this primary, since ballots may be mailed in if postmarked by June 23, the official election date.

“We can’t give results until we close out machines in our county,” Perry said.

According to the state Board of Elections, ballot counting can start by June 1 as ballots are mailed in and will be completed by June 30, although preliminary results can be announced June 23.

Races

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie of Garrison and Todd McMurtry of Covington are running in the Republican primary for Kentucky's 4th Congressional District to represent Kentuckians in Congress. This is Massie's first contested primary since he was elected in 2012.

Shannon Fabert of Hebro and Alexandra Owensby of Fort Thomas are running for the Democratic Party nomination.

The District 20 Kentucky State Senate race will not run this term.

However, three Republicans and one Democrat are running in the primary for the 58th legislative district seat vacated soon by Rob Rothenburger.

Republicans Jennifer Henson Decker, Dorothy Coverston Higgins and Chris Kleymeyer are running against one another in the primary, while Will Barnett is running unopposed for the Democratic Party slot.

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