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    Live voter updates, polls in Louisville

    Vaseline Posted on

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    Election Day is here and thousands of people across the Commonwealth will head to the polls on Tuesday to vote in the potentially historic 2024 US general election.

    In addition to deciding whether former President Donald Trump or current Vice President Kamala Harris will become the 47th President of the United States, dozens of state and local issues will be on Kentucky ballots this year, including opt-out measures for the Kentucky’s medical marijuana program and Amendment 2, the Commonwealth’s controversial “school choice” issue.

    The Courier Journal will provide updates from polling places in Louisville throughout the day. Follow us for the latest news and results.

    Election Day: Tell us here what happens at the ballot box

    Neal Augustus, a poll worker at the Barrett Traditional Middle School polling place, started his morning at 5:15 a.m. August directs voters where to go to get their ballot. This polling place serves four precincts, making it a “very busy location,” Augustus told the Courier Journal.

    “It’s fun… just something to do to get the neurons firing a little bit,” Augustus said of his work as a pollster.

    Gregg Underwood, a voter who came to the polls just before the polls opened, said he was urged to vote before dawn because “I want to do what’s best for me and other people going forward.”

    “I feel like America’s security is at stake,” Underwood said.

    Another voter, Julia Sheldon, who felt “anxiety and fear,” said she voted largely on one issue: “making sure women’s bodies are protected today.”

    How was your voting experience? Send your letter to the editor here

    “Specifically because in the future, if something happens, as a woman, I, and a lot of my friends and family, want to make sure that I can be treated, that I can get help, and that I will be accepted and the same. ” to everyone I care about,” Sheldon told the Courier Journal.

    Bart Irwin considers his voice a privilege. As he thought about this election, compared to the eight previous elections in which Irwin had participated, he became emotional.

    “I feel like there’s so much at stake, especially with our democracy, that I never thought I’d see it in jeopardy, which I think it does, so I want to make sure I’m here and vote,” he said.

    Irwin said he believes this election has a “clear choice” compared to previous elections, where he thought it could be a toss-up. Now Irwin will wait to see what the election results reveal.

    “I think it will affect the rest of our history,” Irwin said.

    There have been numerous reports of problems at polling places in Jefferson County, including Jeffersontown High School, the Beechmont Community Center and Highview Baptist on Shelbyville Road.

    The reported problems with the voting machines are due to a system-wide software update to the “e-poll books,” Ashley Tinius, communications director for the Jefferson County County Clerk’s Office, told the Courier Journal in a phone call Tuesday morning.

    “There is absolutely no truth in the fact that they don’t work because they work,” Tinius said. “They’re just running slower than we’d like to see.”

    At this time, Tinius cannot estimate when the affected voting machines will work at full speed. She noted that “it varies by district” where some machines have completed the software update and are back to normal operation, while others are still slow and lagging.

    “We will make sure we monitor this throughout the day, along with anything else that may arise,” Tinius said.

    Metro Councilman Anthony Piagentini said he has heard of problems at polling places such as Valley Station, Stonestreet and Pleasure Ridge Park. He also said he has heard that those who were first in line at a polling station on Beaulah Church Road at 6 a.m. spent more than two hours at the polls.

    Joel Hunt, 49, of Louisville, said he was late for work because of problems with voting machines after waiting in line to cast his ballot Tuesday at the Beechmont Community Center in the Beechmont neighborhood. Hunt, who works for a shipping company on the edge of Jefferson and Bullitt counties, said he arrived to vote around 6:50 a.m. and that the lines had not been moved.

    “A poll worker just came by and announced that they’re still having problems with the computers and they don’t have a backup plan. On Election Day, it’s a little late not to have a backup plan,” Hunt told the Courier Journal . . “Nobody has any idea what they’re doing and I don’t know why they wouldn’t expect record turnout, but they have machines that don’t work, they don’t have a backup plan, they don’t have polls like they used to.”

    Posting on X Monday afternoon, Beshear encouraged the public to vote no on Amendment 2, saying the “future of public education is at stake” if it is ratified.

    Similarly, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman posted her opposition Monday morning, saying the amendment “most threatens our rural schools, as well as the communities where I grew up and taught.”

    Senator Rand Paul and his wife, Kelley Paul, have been strong supporters of the amendment, and a message on X from Kelley, reposted by Rand, says Kentuckians should vote yes.

    “Why do Democrats, including our governor, want to deny poor children stuck in failing schools the right to free options like Boys Latin School in Baltimore or East End Prep in Nashville? These schools educate the poorest children with excellent results,” said Kelley.

    Kentucky Amendment 2 Do you have any questions about Amendment 2? We have answers

    Danny Davidson was one of the first to vote at Barrett Traditional Middle School in the Crescent Hill neighborhood. He works nights and heard how long early voting was taking, so he left work and went straight to the polls.

    “It was easy,” he said. “I knew the line would be quite short.”

    Before the polls opened, the high school had a line of just over 20 people.

    The Republican Party of Kentucky posted on X, formerly Twitter, Tuesday morning, saying, “Every vote is critical in shaping the direction of our nation,” and encouraging residents of the commonwealth to locate their polling places. The Kentucky Democratic Party also posted, telling people to vote from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

    There are also long lines at some locations. X user Barry Thornberry posted at 6:06 am that his polling place in Nicholasville has the longest line he’s seen voting in 40 years.

    While many Kentuckians decided early this year to go to the polls and cast their ballots in other ways, some prefer the in-person voting experience on Election Day. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear posted a message on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday encouraging those who have not yet voted to do so.

    “Voting is the foundation of our democracy, and every Kentuckian should use this right to make their voice heard,” Beshear said.

    More than 650,000 voters across Kentucky cast ballots during Kentucky’s early voting period, with the largest early turnout occurring in Anderson County. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams said 41% of registered voters there went to the polls during the three days of early voting. Bullitt County came in second with 34% of registered voters casting ballots early.

    Adams said on Oct. 23 that about 130,700 voters across Kentucky had requested an absentee ballot in 2024, which could herald a huge turnout on Tuesday.

    “For God’s sake, vote early,” he said in a social media post.

    Some voters reported waiting more than two hours to vote during the early voting period, and there was a line of hundreds of people waiting at the Bowman Field polling place during the first day of no-excuse early voting Thursday.

    Between early and absentee voting, 792,476 ballots have already been cast.

    In Kentucky, polls are open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Election Day. Jefferson County residents can learn more about voting locations below.

    Polling places are assigned by address in Jefferson County.

    The State Board of Elections maintains an online list of polling places throughout the Commonwealth. Voters who know their constituency can use the list to find the name and address of their polling station.

    Jefferson County residents can download a sample ballot from the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office here.

    The Courier Journal will update results throughout the night. Download the Courier-Journal.com app to get the latest results on your phone. Click here to download on Apple devices or click here for Android devices.

    Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz appeared in Louisville on October 23 to speak on behalf of the Harris Victory Fund at a campaign reception as part of his campaign stop.

    Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance appeared in Lexington in August for a fundraising event sponsored by the Trump 47 Committee. Kelly Craft, event ambassador, told The Courier Journal prior to the event and during the Kentucky State Fair Ham Breakfast that Vance is her boyfriend and she was excited to host him.

    Reporter Stephanie Kuzydym contributed to this report.

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