Name: Jefferson, Fayette counties will not have to add additional polling locations, judge rules
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Jefferson, Fayette counties will not have to add additional polling locations, judge rules

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Louisville Courier JournalView CommentsLOUISVILLE, Ky.&nbsp;—Kentucky's most populous counties will not&nbsp;have to offer more than one polling location on Tuesday's primary elections, a federal judge ruled on Thursday.In a lawsuit , state Rep. Jason Nemes, a Louisville Republican, and voters from Jefferson, Fayette, Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties alleged that "significant voter suppression" would occur as a result of each county having a singular polling location.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&nbsp;Judge Charles R. Simpson III&nbsp;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.Boone and Campbell counties eventually reached a settlement with the plaintiffs and were dismissed from the suit, as each agreed to add one polling location.Related:On Thursday, Simpson denied the request, 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.Defendants named in the lawsuit were the aforementioned county clerks and members of their counties' board of elections, members of the Kentucky State Board of Elections, Secretary of State Michael Adams and Gov. Andy Beshear. Adams and Beshear were both dismissed from the case before the ruling.In a joint statement Thursday evening, Nemes and Louisville Metro Councilwoman Keisha Dorsey, a Democrat representing the council's 3rd District who filed a motion to intervene to join the plaintiffs, said that&nbsp;"we regret that the Court did not order more polling locations to open across the county." The plaintiffs will not 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."Jefferson County officials:In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has claimed the lives of over&nbsp;500 Kentuckians, Adams and Beshear reached a bipartisan agreement to push back the election date&nbsp;from May to June and to allow all registered voters to&nbsp;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&nbsp;Kentucky Exposition Center at 937 Phillips Lane will&nbsp;serve as the county's sole in-person voting place&nbsp;on June 23.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,&nbsp;'This isn't going to work,' then that's the result."Nore Ghibaudy, a spokesman for the Jefferson County Clerk's Office and Board of Elections, told The Courier Journal on&nbsp;Friday morning that "it would have been a great hardship" to add more than a dozen new polling locations, as the plaintiffs asked."The decision in selecting the Exposition Center was not taken lightly by the Jefferson County Board of Elections in providing a safe environment for voters who chose to cast their ballot in-person on June 23," Ghibaudy wrote in an email.Check out:Fayette County Clerk Don Blevins Jr. told The Courier Journal earlier this week 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," Blevins said. " For&nbsp;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.&nbsp;I'm trying to save lives here."When asked about the ruling, Blevins told The Courier Journal that "it is good to have this distraction resolved" and that Simpson "was very thorough in his review of the pleadings and has validated the approach we are taking to insure a fair and accurate, and more importantly, safe election."The campaign for Democratic Senate candidate Amy McGrath had&nbsp;&nbsp;and asked that the judge declare that&nbsp;the "current system of absentee voting is unconstitutional" and to extend the deadline to apply for an absentee ballot. Simpson .The Kentucky Exposition Center will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Election Day, and parking will be free. Friday and Monday at the location from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. as well as at the Jefferson County Elections Center at 701 W. Ormsby Ave.Make your own ballot:Contact Ben Tobin at &nbsp;and&nbsp;502-377-5675 or follow on Twitter&nbsp;.&nbsp;Support strong local journalism by subscribing today:&nbsp;.View Comments

Louisville Courier JournalView CommentsLOUISVILLE, Ky.&nbsp;—Kentucky's most populous counties will not&nbsp;have to offer more than one polling location on Tuesday's primary elections, a federal judge ruled on Thursday.In a lawsuit , state Rep. Jason Nemes, a Louisville Republican, and voters from Jefferson, Fayette, Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties alleged that "significant voter suppression" would occur as a result of each county having a singular polling location.The plaintiffs alleged that the singular polling locations violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S....

Jefferson, Fayette counties will not have to add additional polling locations, judge rules

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