A Barren County voter signs their name on an e-poll book, which is used rather than a traditional book, to check-in at Barren County High School on Tuesday, June 23, 2020, during Kentucky’s less-than-traditional primary election.
(BRENNAN CRAIN/WCLU NEWS)
GLASGOW, Ky. – Thirty-two days remain before the General Election will be held across the United States, and the Barren County Clerk’s Office is working to ensure voters have ample time and opportunity to cast their votes.
In-person voting
Voters will have three locations available to vote on Nov. 3. Those locations are Barren County High School, Cave City Convention Center and Austin Tracy Volunteer Fire Department.
Normal precincts will not be used, and any person registered to vote in Barren County can use any of those three locations from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Helena Birdwell, Barren County Clerk, said the polling locations are equipped to handle several people at once. The polls also have an e-poll book, which creates a faster experience for check-in and voting.
“Using the e-poll books really speeds up this process of checking in. We’re no longer flipping through that ‘old-timey’ roster book,” Birdwell said. “You’re handing us your ID. We’re scanning the back of that ID, and issuing you the correct ballot.”
Mail-in (absentee) voting
The primary election, held June 23, was unlike any in the past. Barren County had one voting location and many voters cast their ballots by mailing them to the clerk rather than voting in person.
The Barren County Clerk’s Office reported 6,440 absentee ballots were issued in the primary election. The clerk’s office had 3,590 absentee ballot applications submitted as of Oct. 2.
Voters had the option to cancel their ballot if they decided they wanted to vote in person in the 2020 primary election. That is no longer allowed.
“Please, please make sure that’s how you want to vote. You can’t just come in and hand that back to us and say, ‘Cancel this. I want to vote in person,’” Birdwell said. “The state did make that change from the primary to the general.”
Of the total ballots issued in the primary election, 5,099 were returned. Of those returned after the deadline on June 30, 380 ballots were rejected due to problems associated with the ballot.
Absentee ballot applications are accepted through Oct. 9. To request a ballot, click here.
In-house voting
Another option for Barren County’s voters includes “in-house” voting.
“I want everybody to vote,” Birdwell said. “If you’re a registered voter and you want to vote, there’s lots of options for you to vote here in Barren County on Election Day or before.”
Early voting is similar to voting on Election Day. The process involves a tangible ballot that is placed inside a scanning machine by the voter. The only difference is that voters cast their ballots at the clerk’s office.
Of the 7,950 ballots scanned in the primary election, 1,237 were in-house votes.
Early voting is inside the Barren County Clerk’s Office, and it begins on Tuesday, Oct. 13 and ends Monday, Nov. 2.
Times for early voting are 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. every Monday; 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. every Tuesday through Friday; and from 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. on Oct. 17, 24 and 31.
Motor vehicle customers will be required to use two windows, which are positioned on the side of the clerk’s office, through that period of time to help reduce people inside the office.
For election updates and questions, stay tuned at the Barren County Clerk’s Facebook page. The clerk’s office can also be reached at (270) 651-3783.
To access a 2020 General Election ballot, click here.
