In a visit Tuesday to check out early in-person voting at the Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center, Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams brought some good news.
Forty-two percent of Warren County’s registered voters had already cast their votes by the end of the day Monday, either by absentee ballot or by voting at SKyPAC.
“Warren County is killing it,” said Adams, a Republican who was elected to the state office last year. “I’m not losing any sleep over Warren County.”
Adams, who was saddled with coming up with a pandemic-compliant election plan shortly after taking office, said about 33 percent of registered voters statewide had cast votes by Monday.
A big reason is the response to absentee voting. Adams said 499,768 voters had returned their absentee ballots, which is 76 percent of those requested.
“That’s good news,” he said. “It means the ballots aren’t being delayed by the post office.”
Early in-person voting that started Oct. 13 has been well-received as well, according to Adams. He said 632,862 voters, roughly 19 percent of the state’s registered voters, had cast their ballots in person already.
“Bottom line, if we’re expecting a 70 percent voter turnout, it should be very manageable on Election Day,” said Adams, a Paducah native.
He said voting processes put in place to accommodate the restrictions of the coronavirus pandemic have been welcomed around the state.
“I’ve had county judge-executives of both parties and voters tell me they love early voting and would like to keep it,” Adams said.