Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and Secretary of State Michael Adams have announced the compromised plan for the upcoming November general election in the midst of COVID-19.
Governor Beshear took the time to give a COVID-19 update, saying Kentucky continues to see a high number of positive cases—he announced 679 new cases, putting the overall total in the state at 38,298. Eight more Kentuckians have died, including a 75-year old woman from Hopkins County, putting Kentucky at 804 fatalities.
The governor says he believes the voting plan, which started as a proposal from Secretary Adams and is now an executive order signed by him, gives the people of Kentucky as many options as possible to vote safely and comfortably. It includes the option of requesting an absentee ballot, which will open in the next seven days, and Governor Beshear says the deadline to request a ballot is October 9.
The Secretary of State’s proposal also includes early voting—in the three weeks leading up to the election, people will be able to go in and vote in-person while limiting the amount of people in polling places.
Secretary Adams says he believes this decision improves on what he calls a success in the primary election, while making sure to keep the health of Kentuckians front and center.
There will also be in-person voting on election day and county election boards will be able to determine polling locations that will be open, and there will be at least one ‘voting supercenter’ in each county. There could be secured drop boxes at clerk’s offices to allow for someone to drop off their ballot instead of mailing it in.
The Tennessee Department of Health is reporting 1,947 new cases of COVID-19, putting the total in the Volunteer State at 130,458 and 13 new deaths, up to 1,326.