Why are Kentucky election laws so strict? They don't want you to vote

Honi Marleen Goldman | Opinion contributor

Here is the dirty little secret about voting: Our government officials always bemoan how low the voter turnout is for every election, but the reality is that they really do not want you to vote.

In fact, Kentucky election laws are some of the most restrictive in the nation: no early voting, limited absentee voting and inadequate hours to vote. Along with the Jefferson County Clerk's Office, this government duo makes it almost impossible for anyone to vote.

You see, when more people vote, it forces these government agencies to work harder. So, it seems that their workload is more important than your vote.

Want to vote early?

Can't do that unless you will be out of Jefferson County, or in your last trimester of pregnancy, or in surgery, or in jail but not yet convicted.

Want an absentee ballot?

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The gobbledygook on the various Board of Elections websites are convoluted for a specific reason. They don't want to send you one! And if they did, your application for a ballot, or the actual ballot, might slip through those ever-pesky proverbial "cracks" of "lost in the mail." (To request an absentee ballot online: www.jeffersoncountyclerk.org/AbsAppRequest/)

Just getting the APPLICATION for an absentee ballot is a multi-step ordeal. The APPLICATION must be first requested, then completed, and then mailed (first class) to Jefferson County Election Center office no later than close-of-business seven days before this election (Oct. 30, 2018). Then they send you your ballot, which must be filled out correctly, returned, via first-class mail to Jefferson County Clerk's Office, and be in this office no later than on Election Day, Tuesday Nov. 6. And NOT postmarked on that day!

Make sure you put enough postage on the ballot; some election officials are saying two, others three stamps, anywhere between 71 cents to $1.50. One family told me that their child who was away at college had to send his ballot Express Mail, $30, just to make sure it got to the Election Center on time.

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How about if you hurt yourself and land in the hospital?

Yep, you can get an "emergency absentee ballot" up to 14 days before the election. Just make sure you have someone who has time to run back and forth to the Board of Elections office (701 W. Ormsby Ave., not the old Baxter street location). You have to find someone in the hospital to notarize your application for a ballot, then have someone take that application to the Board of Elections to get your ballot; then after you fill out your ballot, a person has to take your ballot back to the Board of Elections before 6 p.m. on Election Day!

Enough to make you even sicker, right?

Maybe you qualify for an "early in-house absentee ballot." But there is only one place in the entire almost 400 square miles of Jefferson County where you can vote: Election Center, 701 W. Ormsby Ave., Room 301 (near 7th and Oak streets). And only on Monday-Friday, now until Nov. 5, 2018, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.; the following Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. — Oct. 20, Oct. 27 and Nov. 3.

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Of course, it would make sense to open all the eight county clerks' branches for early absentee voting, but again, that would require personnel in the County Clerk’s office to work more. And let's not even talk about the struggle of getting to West Ormsby, with or without a car.

At this point you are saying "Absentee ballots — how important are they really?" HELLOOO! That is what these government officials want you to think. By law, ALL ballots are counted, and in a tight race, absentee ballots make the difference in who wins. Think of the candidates who won the last election by 15 votes or less.

Maybe you want to vote on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 6. OK, you have already registered, checked to make sure you are registered correctly and found out online where your polling place is. You have your photo ID, and you head to the polls bringing appropriate identification like a driver’s license, social security card, credit card or other form of identification that contains both a picture and signature.

Maybe you even printed out a sample ballot: jeffersoncountyclerk.org/wheredoivote.

Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. If you are in line after 6 p.m., you are supposed to be allowed to vote. And make sure you have turned your clocks back an hour on Sunday, Nov. 4.

You need a ride to the polls? Various companies like Lyft, Uber and A. Philip Randolph Institute (502-774-4834) are giving free or reduced-price rides to the polls on Election Day.

You work on one end of town, and your polling place is at another. By Kentucky law, you have four hours off to vote, but that is without pay. Not many employers are that generous.

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Maybe you work a 12-hour shift in a hospital? Oh, just put the patient on life support, run to vote and finish the surgery later.

Maybe when you get to your polling place, your name is not on the rolls. What can you do? Request an immediate hearing if your eligibility to vote is questioned. Of course, you will have to go to the Election Center at 701 W. Ormsby. Any decision can be immediately appealed to a Circuit Court judge. And of course, all of this has to be done before the polls close at 6 p.m.

Hard of hearing or vision impaired? Every polling place has the new touch-screen voting machines, but they are kind of hidden, so you have to ask for them. (And again, the Board of Elections did not really notify people of these machines.)

My plea to all the area churches, synagogues, temple, organizations: Please help people get to the polls. Talk to all your members and congregants about voting, and encourage them to get their friends and neighbors to the polls or to the early absentee polls.

Got more questions: Jefferson County Election Center, 502-574-6100 or email: Elections@JeffersonCountyClerk.org. Or Kentucky Board of Elections, 502-573-7100.

There is a wonderful solution for all this voter suppression, VOTE! Vote for candidates who are willing to change Kentucky voting laws.

Vote for candidates who will expand the hours of voting, who will allow anyone to vote early and at all Jefferson County Clerks branches, and who will mandate that the postage for absentee ballots is prepaid!

Your vote is the power to change how your government works for you.

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Louisville native Honi Marleen Goldman is a community activist and organizer, who has spearheaded numerous grassroots movements on women's rights and often writes on social issues.