It’s one week before Election Day in Hardin County, Kentucky. For the last four days, county clerk Brian Smith has been swamped with excused early voters. They stand among the leather-bound books and maps detailing the county’s parcel records.
“Our numbers here in Hardin County are through the roof,” Smith said. “I think we ended yesterday at almost 1,000 [voters]. You look at the [general] election last year – we did less than 200 over the whole six days [of excused early voting].
The whole time Smith talks he prints out ballots, scans voter IDs, asks for signatures – over and over and over again. It’s obvious this is just a reflex for him at this point.
“I think every clerk is in this standard mode of election brain,” he said, laughing. “You It's all you think about. You lay it at bed at night, you're thinking… this is what we plan for. We call it our Super Bowl. And I love it. It's the best part of the job.”
Smith said if his numbers and experience are any indication, voter turnout in Kentucky is going to be massive on Election Day.
“We’re expecting our socks to be knocked off with this, but we’ve been preparing since before the May primary for this general election,” Smith said. “Folks will find lines on Election Day. Hands down. It doesn’t matter what county you vote in, you’re gonna find lines.”
Kentucky clerks have been preparing for this turnout for a long time now.
Tabatha Clemons has been the clerk in Grant County for 10 years and is president of the Kentucky County Clerk’s Association. She said her and other clerks got more phone calls about voting than she’s ever seen – and it’s not just because of the presidential election.
“People are very passionate about what's on the ballot this election,” she said. “Whether that's school choice or it's medical cannabis or, you know, the presidential candidates, or local races, city councils and those things.”
Clemons said she’s been working with clerks to share ideas on how to make this election run smoothly. She’s been encouraging clerks to amp up their capacity at early voting sites. No-excuse early voting is still a relatively new ability in Kentucky and she said it’s proven wildly popular with voters.
“They love early voting,” Clemons said. “Whether it's on Saturday morning before they're taking a child to a sporting event, or whether it's when they get off work on Thursday afternoon… the ability to vote on their own timeline has been a game changer."
One Kentuckian who loves early voting? Secretary of State Michael Adams. On Thursday – the first day of no-excuse early voting – he cast his ballot alongside nearly a quarter of a million other voters.
Adams said his office has been watching turnout closely and he’s predicting this election to break national voter turnout records.
“In 2020, we had the highest turnout in a presidential election since 1908,” he said. “I expect turnout to be even higher this year than it was four years ago.”
Just like the Hardin County clerk, Adams says he expects lines will be unavoidable this election – albeit he hopes they are moving lines. That’s why he’s encouraging people to vote early if at all possible.
“One reason is, it will be a better experience for you. The lines will be shorter now than they will be on Tuesday,” he said. “The second reason is, if we have long lines on Tuesday, it's going to be a tough day for our poll workers, and we want them to come back for the next election.”
Anyone in Kentucky can vote early Friday and Saturday. Times vary at each voting location, but most sites open up at around 8 a.m. and close in the early afternoon between 4 and 6 p.m.
Find more information on candidates and how to vote with Louisville Public Media's interactive voter guide.
State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
