Absentee Ballots

District 73 State Rep. Donna Mayfield gained an early advantage in Clark County Tuesday night, winning the absentee vote with 423 to JoEllen Reed's 346. Republican challenger Andy Barr also leads after absentee count with 429 votes to Democratic incumbent Ben Chandler's 266 votes in the sixth district Congressional race.Precinct totals are still being tabulated.

D103, Poor House, located at Garrard County High School: 186 yes; 142 no. A101, Boones Creek, located at Garrard Middle School: 118 yes; 145 no. B101, Gilberts Creek, located at the Garrard County Health Department: 201 yes; 155 no. B103, Pleasant Retreat, located at the Garrard County Extension Office: 102 yes; 86 no. Absentee ballots: 47 yes; 22 no. Totals: 656 yes; 550 no. ...

With the general election less than five weeks away, the Jessamine County clerk’s office is urging voters who will not be in town on Nov. 2 to submit absentee ballots. “All they have to do is call us and request it,” County Clerk Eva McDaniel said. “We'll send them out a request form, and when we get that back, we'll send them out a ballot.” During election season, McDaniel said her office deals with about 1,000 absentee ballots, 500 of which are mailed in and 400-500 are from the voting machine located in the clerk’s office.

Boyle County Clerk Trille Bottom looked at the calendar on her office wall, shook her head and said, "It says Oct. 22, but it has sure felt like Nov. 4. " Since Oct. 1, Boyle County voters have been able to cast absentee ballots on a voting machine in Bottom's office, as well as apply for paper absentee ballots and return them. Since then, activity has been fast and furious as Election Day approaches. "We have had a high number of people voting absentee, both on the machine here at the office and by paper ballot," she said.

With the May primary set for Tuesday, area election officials are largely in agreement with statewide predictions of one of the lowest turnouts in over a decade. Secretary of State Elaine Walker, who is in one of the few primary battles herself against fellow Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes, said Tuesday the turnout could be only 10 percent of registered voters, a level of voter apathy not seen since 1999. Most local county clerks say a dearth of absentee ballots appears to bear those numbers out. “I think we will be lucky to get 10 (percent)

People with disabilities have the right, like other registered voters, to cast their ballots at polling places that are accessible to them. This includes, but is not limited to, people physically accessing their polling places in order to vote independently and privately. You may have been notified that your polling place has been moved or noticed some changes when you voted in the May Primary. These changes have happened for Kentucky to be in compliance with federal laws regarding voter access.

This year's hotly contested presidential election has spurred a record number of voters to register in Kentucky and that increase is reflected in Boyle, Casey, Garrard, Lincoln and Mercer counties, which all show a bump in registration figures since the May primary election. "In the last two weeks it's been a record - I've never seen so many people in here," said Barbara Gay, a deputy Garrard County clerk, where 228 new voters have registered since May. "I don't know whether it's the controversy over the war in Iraq or that the planning and zoning controversy here has just generally spurred an interest in politics or what.

After election officials re-tallied votes Thursday and came up with the same result, David Sparrow conceded defeat to Mike Harmon rather than push ahead with a more extensive recount in the close race for the 54th District seat in the state House of Representatives. "Voters decide these things, and that's what happened here," Sparrow said. "I'm going to be satisfied with the results. " Election night returns showed Harmon, the incumbent Republican, defeating Democratic challenger Sparrow by a total of 61 votes in Boyle and Washington counties.

A re-canvass of votes for the 54th District House race in Boyle and Washington counties this morning resulted in the same outcome: Republican incumbent Mike Harmon defeated Democratic Challenger David Sparrow. Harmon actually picked up one additional vote during a recount of absentee ballots in Boyle County Clerk Denise Curtsinger's office, giving him a total of 4,108 votes in Boyle County compared to 4,252 for Sparrow. Harmon lost Boyle County by 144 votes, but won in Washington County -- where a re-canvass today produced the exact same results -- by 206 votes.

They stood in line hours for essential food. They made long lines in anxious wait for vital fuel. Where can we send life saving aid to this “third world” country? This is America on voting days. We celebrate the people who stood in line early and late in the day: three, five, seven or more hours to claim their right to vote. Many were challenged by shortened voting days. Others faced organized intimidation by “truth” goons. Some found their names were removed from the voting rolls falsely.

They stood in line hours for essential food. They made long lines in anxious wait for vital fuel. Where can we send life saving aid to this “third world” country? This is America on voting days. We celebrate the people who stood in line early and late in the day: three, five, seven or more hours to claim their right to vote. Many were challenged by shortened voting days. Others faced organized intimidation by “truth” goons. Some found their names were removed from the voting rolls falsely.

District 73 State Rep. Donna Mayfield gained an early advantage in Clark County Tuesday night, winning the absentee vote with 423 to JoEllen Reed's 346. Republican challenger Andy Barr also leads after absentee count with 429 votes to Democratic incumbent Ben Chandler's 266 votes in the sixth district Congressional race.Precinct totals are still being tabulated.

Two years after a new mayor and three new members swept onto the Danville City Commission, there was another big shakeup Tuesday night. In the other closely watched Boyle County election, incumbent Mike Harmon held his ground for the 54th District state House seat. On a day when voter turnout in the county topped 62 percent - 12,462 of 20,099 registered voters turned out or cast absentee ballots - city voters swept incumbents J.H. Atkins (3,738) and Kevin Caudill (3,278) back into office.

Voters spurred by fiercely contested national, state and local elections raced to area polls today despite freezing early morning temperatures. Long lines of as many as 50 people in some places awaited poll workers before the doors opened at 6 a.m. While experts counting Kentucky as a lock for Republican Mitt Romney and some local races gaining attention in the run-up to Election Day, many voters said the main event was what drew them to...

People with disabilities have the right, like other registered voters, to cast their ballots at polling places that are accessible to them. This includes, but is not limited to, people physically accessing their polling places in order to vote independently and privately. You may have been notified that your polling place has been moved or noticed some changes when you voted in the May Primary. These changes have happened for Kentucky to be in compliance with federal laws regarding voter access.

With the May primary set for Tuesday, area election officials are largely in agreement with statewide predictions of one of the lowest turnouts in over a decade. Secretary of State Elaine Walker, who is in one of the few primary battles herself against fellow Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes, said Tuesday the turnout could be only 10 percent of registered voters, a level of voter apathy not seen since 1999. Most local county clerks say a dearth of absentee ballots appears to bear those numbers out. “I think we will be lucky to get 10 (percent)

The Nicholasville City Commission recount spilled over into Thursday morning, but when all the dust settled, City Commissioner Johnny Collier remained victorious over fellow City Commissioner Betty Black. In fact, Collier’s one-vote win on election night was increased to a three-vote win after the manual recount, winning by a 3,473 to 3,470 margin. Before Jessamine Circuit Judge Hunter Daugherty issued the ruling to accept the recount numbers, Black’s attorney Michael Hamilton, argued that some absentee ballots that were disqualified for various reasons by the election board should be counted in the recount.

With the general election less than five weeks away, the Jessamine County clerk’s office is urging voters who will not be in town on Nov. 2 to submit absentee ballots. “All they have to do is call us and request it,” County Clerk Eva McDaniel said. “We'll send them out a request form, and when we get that back, we'll send them out a ballot.” During election season, McDaniel said her office deals with about 1,000 absentee ballots, 500 of which are mailed in and 400-500 are from the voting machine located in the clerk’s office.

Winchester Rotary Club The Winchester Rotary Club will meet Friday at noon at the Winchester Country Club. This week's program will feature Jimmy Powell, a teacher at George Rogers Clark High School, and Katie Hill, teacher at Conkwright Middle School. Send the troops Ale-8 The Rowdy Golden Girls Homemakers Club is planning to send Ale-8 to the troops for Christmas. Anyone who knows a soldier should contact Mary Helen Poole at 745-4836 or Pam Price at 355-1064 with names and current addresses.

Finally, the end is in sight. With the protracted and hard-fought 2008 general election just hours away, local officials are readying polling places, and Clark County voters are preparing to cast ballots for their preferred candidates. Workers were out early this morning distributing voting machines to precincts for an election that is expected to draw record-breaking crowds. Clark County Clerk Anita Jones is predicting an 80 percent turnout on Tuesday. Jones said by Friday her office was expecting more than 900 absentee ballots, which serves as a gauge for turnout on Election Day. "That's almost twice as many as we have had in the past," she said.