When it comes to early voting in Kentucky, use it or lose it. | Opinion
Secretary of State Michael Adams is proud of election reforms like three days of early voting in Kentucky. But he’s worried that if more people don’t vote early, the legislature may scrap the whole plan.
“I have been told by a GOP legislator that he will try to get it repealed,” Adams said Wednesday. “I don’t know how many votes there are in the caucus, but I think the wing against election reform is getting bigger. That concerns me.”
Early voting started as part of COVID-era reforms, and three days is still much less than most states, which have two weeks available. In the past three years, between 13-15 percent of voters have used the extra three days.
Before this, Kentucky had some of the most restrictive voting in the country, with just 12 hours, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on one weekday, when many people have to work.
“I don’t get it because it’s got the same checks and balances as always, but I think some folks believe it should be done the way it’s always been done,” Adams said.
Basically, early voting is a win-win-win: By opening days on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, it allows people with restricting work schedules to show up. In turn that means fewer people on Election Day, which means fewer long lines and waits.
The biggest problems that I recall from 2022 were extremely long lines in Oldham and Bullitt counties on Election Day.
It’s not ideological. Neighboring red states, such as Tennessee and Ohio, have had early voting for years, for many more days. In Ohio, there’s in-person early voting for three-and-a-half weeks.
“There’s really no downside,” said Josh Douglas, a constitutional law and voting expert at the University of Kentucky College of Law, who has voted early for the past three years. “It’s been seamless. The counties have figured it out just fine.
“Kentucky was pretty behind most other states before it adopted some early voting, and three days is even small compared to a lot of other states,” Douglas noted. “Even with a smaller than we’d like number of people using it, it still relieves pressure on Election Day. But it takes a little while for these changes to have their full impact as people get used to the system.”
Here in Lexington, early voting has been held at Kroger Field. That won’t work during football season so Fayette County Clerk Susan Lamb worked with the Lexington Public Library to find early voting sites.
So this year, you can vote early Nov. 2, 3 and 4 at Northside Library (1733 Russell Cave Road), Eastside Library (3000 Blake James Drive), Tates Creek Library (3628 Walden Drive) and Lexington Senior Center (195 Life Lane) from 8:30am- 4:30pm EST.
I understand the reluctance to change voting habits. There’s something fun about heading to the same precinct every year to do your patriotic duty with friends and neighbors.
There’s always a sense of expectancy and tension, along with the pleasure of seeing the strength of our democracy in its most basic form.
But this year, I’m going to head to the Senior Center on Saturday, Nov. 4 to see if it’s just as much fun, and possibly a whole lot easier.
You should, too, in case our General Assembly gets the not bright idea that less voting is better.
This story was originally published October 11, 2023 at 12:56 PM.
