The outcome of a suddenly competitive Democratic U.S. Senate primary could hang in the balance if Election Day turnout is hampered in Louisville — the hometown of Charles Booker, who has mounted a strong late challenge against presumed frontrunner Amy McGrath.
“If Charles Booker barely loses, I think the integrity of that election is in question,” Republican state Rep. Jason Nemes said Monday.
The winner of the primary probably will go against Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who isn’t expected to see a serious GOP primary challenge, in November.
The state's Republican secretary of state, Michael Adams, said he's “cautiously optimistic" that long lines won't force people in Louisville to wait hours before voting. Early voting opened statewide two weeks ago. That, along with strong demand for absentee ballots, could spare people in Louisville or elsewhere from long waits, Adams said Monday.
Nemes sued to get more in-person voting locations in the state's most populous counties. A federal judge denied the request several days before the election.
The surge of absentee ballots could cause waits of another sort Tuesday, as some counties have said they won't release vote totals before June 30.
Kentucky turned to widespread mail-in absentee voting in an agreement between the state's Democratic governor and Adams in response to the global coronavirus outbreak. But many voters not requesting absentee ballots will head to the polls Tuesday. The state's primary is typically in late May but was delayed.
Many states pushed their elections back to manage an onslaught of poll worker cancellations and consolidation of polling places. They also sought time to push more voters to cast absentee ballots.
In Louisville, a city of 600,000, the only in-person voting place on Election Day is at the state fairgrounds. Despite waves of mail-in voting, some were bracing for long lines and frustration.
“There will be a number of people who want to vote tomorrow but will be discouraged from voting because it’s much too difficult,” Nemes said.
That's of particular concern for Booker, who is Black and is counting on a high turnout in Louisville. He said his campaign would “keep a watchful eye" and stands ready to mount a legal challenge if needed.
“There should not have only been one location,” Booker said. “That will just naturally disenfranchise folks.”
McGrath tried to join the suit demanding more than one in-person voting location on Election Day in Louisville and other population centers, but a federal judge denied her campaign’s motion to intervene. McGrath also pushed to extend the deadline for requesting an absentee ballot.
For voters unable to get an absentee ballot, “you are forced to now stand in line in the one polling location in the middle of a pandemic," McGrath said. “If you're 82 years old, are you going to do that?"
Richard Beliles, Common Cause Kentucky board chairman, said offering “so few polling places for the primary is irresponsible and unacceptable, and sadly it was avoidable."
Georgia delayed its primary twice to give election officials more time to prepare, sending absentee ballot applications to every active registered voter in the state. But that wasn’t enough. When Georgia held its primary June 9, metro Atlanta voters had waits of up to 10 hours. As in Milwaukee and Philadelphia, many of the lines were concentrated in minority communities, sparking objections from voting rights advocates.
Even in Nevada, where absentee ballots were sent to every registered voter for the June 9 primary, large-scale consolidation caused problems. The last voter in Las Vegas to cast a ballot did so at 3 a.m., eight hours after polls were supposed to close.
What happened in Nevada demonstrated that even when absentee ballots are sent directly to voters, demand for in-person voting can remain high.
In Kentucky, Adams said: “There are going to be lines -- 30, 45 minutes, maybe an hour, maybe longer." He added: “We don't think anyone will be disenfranchised."
More than 883,000 absentee ballots were requested statewide, with slightly more than half filled out and sent in, Gov. Andy Beshear said. More than 88,000 Kentuckians voted in person early, he said.
