Some community leaders in Daviess County say the selection of polling locations could have a discriminatory effect on voter turnout in next week’s election.
The Owensboro NAACP, the Public Life Foundation, and the Citizens Committee held a new conference at the Daviess County Courthouse on Wednesday and expressed concerns that election officials are placing a hardship on residents of Owensboro’s west end.
Twelve voting locations will be open on election day next week, but the Owensboro Sportscenter, located off West Parrish Ave., will not be one of them as it’s been in past elections.
According to Daviess County Clerk Leslie McCarty, a scheduling conflict prevented the Sportscenter from serving as a polling location.
“The census tracts that it affects are people in areas where we have one of the highest concentrations of poverty and one of the highest concentrations of minority groups, said local NAACP President Rhondalynn Randolph. "It does come across as being a disenfranchisement, and I’m not saying it was intentionally done.”
Third Baptist Church is essentially serving as the replacement for the Sportscenter, but Randolph says there were at least two schools closer to the Sportscenter that weren’t considered as voting sites, although they have been used in the past on election day.
The Third Baptist Church location is further away, which Randolph adds, may
create transportation and other challenges.
While the groups aren’t alleging intentional disenfranchisement, they say Daviess County’s voting plan shows "a lack of sensitivity and inclusiveness."
The NAACP, Owensboro Transit, and other groups will provide free rides to voting centers on Tuesday, aimed at improving access to the polls.
Meanwhile, early voting will take place Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at Owensboro Christian Church from 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Rhondalynn Randolph is president of the Owensboro N-Double-A-C-P.
