The Independent View: Judge Rules KY Counties Will Not Have to Add Additional Polling Locations

Kentucky's Jefferson and Fayette, the most Populous Counties, will Not have to Add Additional Polling Locations, for the June 23rd Primary Elections, a Federal Judge Ruled on Thursday.

In a Lawsuit filed June 8th in the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Kentucky, State Rep. Jason Nemes (R-33rd District, Louisville), and Voters from: Boone, Campbell, Fayette, Jefferson, and Kenton, Counties, alleged that "significant voter suppression" would occur as a Result of Each County having a Singular Polling Location on the Primary Election Day. The Plaintiffs alleged that the Singular Polling Locations Violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution as well as Part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The Plaintiffs asked Senior U.S. District Judge, Charles R. Simpson III, to Declare the use of Single Polling Locations in Counties that Exceed 35,000 Registered Voters Unconstitutional and to "enter permanent and preliminary injunctive relief to prohibit the use of a single polling location" in those Counties.

Defendants named in the Lawsuit were: the Counties County Clerks and Members of their Board of Elections; Members of the Kentucky State Board of Elections; Secretary of State, Michael Adams (R); and Gov. Andy Beshear (D). Adams and Beshear were both Dismissed from the Case before the Ruling.

Then Boone and Campbell Counties, reached a Settlement with the Plaintiffs and were Dismissed from the Suit, as each County Agreed to Add another Polling Location. Jefferson County Officials said: Having More than One Primary Polling Site Almost Impossible.

The Campaign for Democratic Senate Candidate, Amy McGrath, had filed a Motion to Intervene in the Lawsuit and asked that the Judge Declare that the "current system of absentee voting is unconstitutional" and to Extend the Deadline to Apply for an Absentee Ballot. Simpson Denied the Motion to Intervene.

On Thursday, Simpson Denied the Requests, saying that the Use of Singular Polling Locations, in this instance, is Not Unconstitutional. "While it may seem intuitive that, when it comes to polling places, more is better, that is not a call for this Court to make, unless we first find a constitutional or statutory violation," Simpson wrote.

In a Joint Statement Thursday evening, Nemes and Louisville Metro Councilwoman Keisha Dorsey (D-3rd District), who filed a Motion to Intervene to join the Plaintiffs, said "we regret that the Court did not order more polling locations to open across the county."

The remaining Plaintiffs decided Not to Appeal the Decision.

"We believe the judge disregarded evidence from our expert witness that one location will suppress the vote, particularly among African Americans," Nemes and Dorsey said. "After much consideration, we have decided not to appeal the ruling prior to the election because we don’t want to put our community into confusion over where to vote this close to Election Day."

"We will, however, closely watch what happens on Election Day. We hope we are wrong and that there are no problems in voting," the Statement continues. "But if there are major concerns with the election, we will fight as hard as we can to ensure that similar problems don’t recur during the general election in November."

In Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, which has claimed the Lives of over 500 Kentuckians, Adams and Beshear reached a Bipartisan Agreement to push back the Election date from May to June and are Allowing All Registered Voters to Mail-In their Ballots. As Beshear's Administration made these Changes, Individual Counties Adjusted, as well.

In May, the Jefferson County Elections Center announced that the Kentucky Exposition Center at 937 Phillips Lane will Serve as the County's Sole In-Person Voting Place on June 23rd. In response to the Lawsuit, Jefferson County Clerk, Bobbie Holsclaw, said last week it is "discouraging when you have elected officials who campaign against" the Election Setup. "The truth of the matter is, they don't know the first thing about elections. But they now are professionals on it," said Holsclaw, who is also the Chairperson for the County's Board of Elections. "... And that's what suppresses the vote. When you're out there every day telling people, 'This isn't going to work,' then that's the result."

Fayette County Clerk, Don Blevins Jr., said "that the ease of voting by absentee ballot in this election and the desire to keep people away from one another to stem the potential spread of the coronavirus warrants the singular polling location. I felt like (the singular polling location) is sufficient for those people who are so hard-headed they want to vote in person. For everybody else, we're going to try to encourage them to vote by mail. To me, that's not voter suppression, or disenfranchisement or anything like that, I'm trying to save lives here." When asked if he would be able to Add more Polling Locations if a Judge Forced him to do so, Blevins said "there's no runway left here. There's no time to do that."