Mail-in, in-person voting OK’d for November election

By TONY FYFFE
BSN Editor

FRANKFORT — All Kentucky voters will again be allowed to cast mailed-in absentee ballots or participate in early in-person voting under a plan approved for the November general election.
The plan, approved Friday by Gov. Andy Beshear and Secretary of State Michael Adams, will also permit in-person voting on Election Day. Under the plan, voters concerned with contacting or spreading COVID-19 can request a ballot by mail, with an online portal to be launched this week. Ballots can be requested through the portal through Oct. 9 and through traditional means after that date.
Mail ballots must be postmarked by Election Day, which is Nov. 3, and received by Nov. 6 to be counted.
Drop boxes will be established to return mail ballots if voters are concerned about postal delays, with locations to be determined by county clerks. Early voting will begin Oct. 13 and be available every work day until Election Day and every Saturday for at least four hours. County clerks will provide a location for “safe in-person voting,” a press release from the governor’s office said. On Election Day, every county will have at least one “super-center, where everyone from the county can go to vote, regardless of his or her precinct,” the release said. County election officials will pick election sites, with each county plan to be approved by state officials. Adams said last week that the number of poll workers in Kentucky is at a “critical low” and that the availability of those workers will determine how many voting locations will be available on Election Day. Voters can register to be a poll worker at a new online portal. To apply, visit www.govoteky.com and click on “Kentucky Needs Poll Workers.”