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Uptick in Voter Registration Slows Verifications in Kentucky

Because the current registration system does not stop a would-be voter from registering multiple times, the already strained staff of the Daviess County Clerk’s Office is having to verify each application against state records.

"I voted" stickers with an American flag
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(TNS) — Although the deadline to register to vote in Kentucky passed on Monday, officials with the Daviess County Clerk’s Office said Tuesday they won’t know how many people registered to vote for next month’s presidential election for several days.

That’s because the clerk’s office staff is still sorting through the registration forms, many filed by people who were already registered.

“We had one person that registered four times,” Deputy County Clerk Richard House said. “The system doesn’t stop you. Instead of checking to see if they are registered, they just register again.”

County Clerk Leslie McCarty said the office’s election staff has been working through the applications by checking them against the state’s database of registered voters. The work has to be completed this week so the name of voters can be loaded onto the electronic poll books that will be used in the election.

The work has to be done by Monday because early voting in Kentucky begins on Tuesday.

While the work is “going well,” McCarty said of elections workers: “I know they are stressed out.”

The stresses of a presidential election will be different for all election workers, with poll workers having to take on extra duties such as cleaning voting stations between voters, McCarty said.

“If you were a poll worker in the past, your job this time could be totally different,” McCarty said.

While the deadline to register to vote has passed, a second major deadline is looming — the last day to request an absentee ballot is Friday. A ballot can be requested by calling the clerk’s office at 270-240-5771, or at the state’s election portal, www.GoVoteKy.com.

“We are worried about anybody that procrastinates on getting their absentee ballot,” House said.

After the clerk’s office closes at 4:30 p.m. Friday and the portal stops taking applications at 10:59 p.m. central time Friday, only people with a medical emergency that prevents them from going to the polls will be able to obtain an absentee ballot.

People have been visiting fraudulent sites, thinking they are requesting absentee ballots, House said. The only legitimate site for an absentee ballot is GoVoteKy.com.

Early voting is from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at Towne Square Mall, and from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays at the Daviess County Courthouse.

“We keep getting lots of questions on Facebook, people messaging us, ‘Where do we vote?’ ” McCarty said.

People without a state or school-issued photo ID will be able to vote, although the process will take longer. People without a photo ID like a driver license, passport, military ID or college ID will have to bring another form of identification, like a Social Security card, SNAP card or credit card, and fill out forms before being allowed to vote.

McCarty said people might think they have more time than they actually do to request an absentee ballot.

“Somewhere at the national level (the Postal Service) sent out postcards saying you have to request an absentee ballot seven days before the election,” McCarty said. “No, that’s too late.”

©2020 the Messenger-Inquirer, Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.