It’s Election Day: What to know as Kentuckians head to the polls
Republished from Kentucky Lantern
In addition to casting votes for U.S. president, Kentuckians will decide numerous races Tuesday — including two state constitutional amendments, congressional contests, legislative seats and many local offices and local questions.
Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time. Voters who are in line to vote at 6 p.m. are entitled to vote.
The state has already seen record early turnout.. Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams said 792,476 voters cast ballots during three days of early voting and six days of in-person excused absentee voting.
More than 3.5 million Kentucky voters were registered to vote ahead of the general election.
Aside from president and vice president, the only statewide races are the two constitutional amendments — one that would specifically bar those who are not U.S. citizens from voting in Kentucky elections and another that would allow the General Assembly to fund nonpublic schools.
Voters in eight Central Kentucky counties will be electing a new justice to the Kentucky Supreme Court.
Information such as sample ballots or polling locations can be found at govote.ky.gov.
Kentucky requires a form of photo identification to vote at the polls, although voters who lack ID are entitled to cast a provisional ballot. Accepted forms of ID are documents issued by the U.S., Kentucky or local governments; the U.S. Department of Defense or a public or private college in Kentucky. One common form of photo ID is a state driver’s license.
Election Fraud Hotline
Republican Attorney General Russell Coleman asks that suspected election law violations be reported to his office through the Election Fraud Hotline at 1-800-328-VOTE or submit an online form.
The hotline is always open to receive messages, but will be answered by the attorney general’s team on Election Day from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern Tips are reviewed and allegations are referred to the Department of Criminal Investigations.
“Every Kentuckian can be confident in the security and integrity of our elections,” Coleman said. “Our dedicated team of investigators, prosecutors and support staff is working tirelessly to protect every vote. We encourage anyone who suspects election law violations to contact the Attorney General’s Election Fraud Hotline.”
The Kentucky State Board of Elections has already debunked a couple of viral claims of irregularities. A Laurel County voter uploaded a video online that appeared to show a machine switching her choice from former President Donald Trump to Vice President Kamala Harris. The board said she had corrected her selections and printed her ballot successfully and the issue was being reviewed by investigators.
On Monday, the board said a viral claim of a pre-printed mark on a Kentucky ballot “currently only exists in the vacuum of social media.” Screenshots of a post showing a tiny dot in a candidate selection box for Harris circulated online. However, the board said no such issue of marks had been reported to the board and the attorney general’s office.
The board suggests voters experiencing issues should contact the attorney general’s hotline.
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