About half of locally requested ballots already returned

With the portal to request an absentee ballot for the Nov. 3 election closed, 572 voters in Crittenden County requested a mail-in ballot. That is only 8.5% of the registered voters in the county. State officials anticipated as many as half of Kentucky's voters would request a mail-in absentee ballot.

As of this weekend, 309, or 54%, of the ballots requested have been returned.

Only 28 of the 572 requested ballots have not been sent out to the voter. Those were requested Thursday and Friday and will be mailed to voters Tuesday.

It’s now too late to request an absentee ballot in Kentucky, but early voting starts Tuesday at Crittenden County courthouse. 

Early voting is available 8-4 weekdays through Nov. 2 in the county clerk’s office. Additionally, the county clerk's office will be open for voting only from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and 9-1 Saturdays. Both paperless and traditional paper balloting will be offered.

Masks are suggested but not required. However, voters will be asked to social distance.

As the courthouse offers limited space with court and regular business continuing, voters may be required to wait in line outside. 

While anyone is welcomed to vote early, the clerk’s office suggests anyone with a mobility issue wait to vote Election Day at the Marion Ed-Tech Center, which has no steps to traverse and is fully handicap-accessible.