100,000 request absentee ballots already
LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – In just a few days, more than 100,000 people have requested absentee ballots to vote in the June 23 primaries in the state.
The primary was supposed to take place May 19 but was pushed back due to Coronavirus concerns.
All 100 House seats are up for grabs in November. Currently, Republicans control 61 seats in the House with Democarts occupying 39 seats.
Half the Kentucky Senate is up for reelection where 29 seats are held by Republicans and 9 Democrats.
As of 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Secretary of State Michael Adams said 100,000 registered Kentucky voters have taken advantage of govoteky.com to request their absentee ballots for the June 23 election.
“Voting absentee is easy, secure, and wildly popular,” Adams said. “I’m grateful to the Kentuckians who understand that we have fewer voting locations available and fewer poll workers available because of COVID-19 – not only are these Kentuckians being good citizens by voting, but by voting absentee they’re being good citizens in relieving the pressure on our voting locations and our poll workers.”
To keep voters safe from COVID-19, Adams says the number of in-person voting options across Kentucky are limited.
Adams announced four ways to vote in the June 23 primary. Voters can mail-in an absentee ballot, drop off an absentee ballot to a secure county election site, vote early in-person by absentee ballot or vote in-person on election day.
Every registered voter can apply for an absentee ballot through the state portal HERE.
Upon introducing the absentee ballot request portal on Friday evening, Adams noted that:
* it requires a voter to verify identity with date of birth and social security number
* ballot envelopes have bar codes for tracking
* election officials will verify that each voter signature on an absentee ballot envelope matches the voter’s signature of record
Absentee ballots may also be obtained from a voter’s county clerk, in-person or by phone, fax or email. Absentee ballots are treated as securely and secretly as any other ballot, and can be either delivered by a voter personally to the county clerk’s office, or mailed back with no postage due.
The deadline to request an absentee ballot for the June 23 election is Monday, June 15.
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