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The Harlan County Clerk’s Office recently gave the Harlan County Fiscal Court a look at new voting booths to be used during the upcoming General Election. The new equipment will allow multiple voters to vote at the same time while providing privacy for each voter while they cast their ballots.
Harlan County Judge-Executive Dan Mosley asked Harlan County Clerk Ashley Sullivan to give the magistrates an update during a recent meeting.
“She (Sullivan) had asked me about doing a presentation of the new voting booths that will help everyone have a bit more privacy in the voting process,” Mosley said. “People always express concern of people looking at the ballot when they’re trying to vote, she’s solved this problem.”
Sullivan asked a Harlan County Clerk’s Office staff member to set up the voting booth (minus any voting equipment) for the court to view.
“You all voted about three different times on this grant that we received, and I wanted to show you all exactly how it was used,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan explained the new booths are lightweight and easy to assemble.
“That’s really important for our poll workers,” Sullivan said. “We have a large range of different people that help us with elections, without them it wouldn’t be possible to conduct the elections that we do. We’re one of the few counties that have 21 voting centers. It takes a lot of people to run that.”
According to Sullivan, each person working during the elections has a different area of responsibility.
“We also work together on everything,” Sullivan said. “It’s really a team effort.”
Sullivan mentioned voting centers have increased in Harlan County since she took office.
“We had 18 voting centers, we now have 21,” Sullivan said. “Everyone is within just a few miles of a voting center.”
Sullivan noted early voting begins at the end of October.
“Early voting starts on Oct. 1, Nov. 1, and Nov 2, at the Harlan Center,” Sullivan said. “We’re going to be putting one booth at each location, and we’re going to be setting up the majority of them at the Harlan Center. This allows smaller voting centers to allow more voters to vote at the same time.”
Sullivan said there are currently approximately 19,000 registered voters in Harlan County.
“I expect that to come up, we keep seeing those numbers go up daily,” Sullivan said. “we’re projecting a record high for this presidential election.”
Mosley mentioned approximately 12,000 Harlan Countians voted in the last presidential election.
“That was a very high turnout, close to 60 percent,” Mosley said. “It seems like the interest level is very high in this process this time.”
Sullivan showed each voter station can accommodate multiple voters at once. She noted the ballot for the upcoming election is a long one.
“I know a lot of things we do you don’t get to see,” Sullivan told the magistrates. “This is an opportunity for me to thank you all for supporting us with the different grants we’ve asked for and throughout the election process.”