To prevent the spread of COVID-19, Gov. Andy Beshear issued anexecutive order recommending that Kentucky voters use an absentee ballot for the June 23 primary election.
In Pulaski County, several thousand residents have already requested those absentee ballots so they can mail in their vote.
The phones have kept ringing as Pulaski County Election Coordinator Mark Vaught said requests for absentee ballots are coming in strong
“We’ve got 6,437 as of right now,” Vaught said around midday on June 8.
Vaught said in most years the county has about 400 mail-in ballots and about 1,200 people who walk-in to vote.
Mail-in ballots must be requested June 15. Voters can request those online at GoVoteKY-dot-com.
Vaught said voters who mail in their ballots must sign both the inner and outer envelopes.
“Yes, that’s required every time. You know when they go to the polls and have to sign the election book, I mean, it’s the same thing, some way we can verify that’s who they are," said Vaught. "We sit there and pull the cards out for every one of those people and check their signatures and make sure that’s the right person who voted.”
To manage the anticipated large number of mail-in ballots in the primary election, Vaught said Pulaski county has a four-person ballot processing committee. That group is expecting to process about 400 mail-in ballots a day.
Pulaski County has about 48,000 registered voters.
Mail-in ballots must be postmarked by the day of the primary election, June 23.
