Ben Overby
Staff Writer
In compliance with COVID-19 regulations to help reduce the spread of the virus, Kentucky voters are allowed to vote early and in person this election year.
According to the Calloway’s County Clerk office, early voting will take place from Oct.13 to Nov. 2. Calloway County voters can go to the Robert O. Miller Courthouse Annex at 201 S. 4th St. in Murray to cast their early votes. The hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.
Early voting is identical to the voting process on Election Day, simply at an earlier time. Any registered voter in Calloway County is eligible to vote early. Just as with Election Day voting, voters need to bring a picture ID with them in order to vote.
Drew Seib, associate professor of political science and interim department chair, said early voting data this year varies from the norm.
“If we look to national trends, early voting is up across the country, especially among Democrats,” Seib said. “As of [Oct. 14], over 10 million votes have already been cast in the 2020 General Election. What is interesting here is that usually Republicans have the advantage in early voting. This raises lots of questions about what this means for election night.”
Seib said these trends likely indicate increased enthusiasm for Democratic voters compared to previous elections.
Seib also talked about the importance of voting.
“Elections have consequences,” he said. “If you are worried about the outcome of the election, you should vote. If you care about the types of policies that the government enacts, then you should vote. Realistically, this is all of us. We all worry about the types of policies the government enacts at one time or another.”
Seib said there are long term consequences to not participating in elections that many people don’t consider.
“Down the road in our lives, we may be stuck with the consequences of policies created now that we didn’t think were important,” Seib said. “Two great examples are the deficit and Social Security, which many of us ignore in the short term, but we also have to think about how we are going to deal with these issues long term and what the consequences are if we don’t.”
Junior Ryan Ackermann voted early on Oct. 13. He said the process was easy and went along smoothly.
“The poll workers were accommodating, everyone was wearing a mask and it wasn’t crowded at all,” Ackerman said. “I just brought my license, masked up and I was good to go.”
He chose early voting because of the feeling of security for his vote.
“I chose to vote early because I knew without a doubt that my vote would be counted and it was right before my eyes,” Ackerman said. “[Voting through] absentee ballot is very valid as well, but this was my preferred choice and it worked well.”
Ackermann also said why he feels it is important to vote.
“Voting is important because we directly choose those who represent us and what policies result as an outcome of that,” Ackerman said. “This is our only concrete say in our government as average citizens.”
