KENTUCKY PRIMARY DAY THREAD: Follow along, friends, as we document today’s in-person voting. And if you’re in line to vote, send me a pic and I’ll add it.
1. First up, the pre-opening line in Lex:
1. First up, the pre-opening line in Lex:
2. An hour in and they are still handling the initial rush from people who joined the line before polls opened. The real test is the wait in an hour or so when the backlog is cleared.
3. Louisville looks fairly light this morning at the beginning.
4. Frankfort: 10-minute wait.
5. ‘Merica
6. Louisville’s health protocols:
7. Lexington, an hour and a half in.
8. Lexington, 2 hours after polls opened:
9. Very little wait in Louisville right now:
10. Anecdote from Louisville this morning. Things seem to be going pretty smoothly so far.
11. Another report from Louisville. No lines.
12. Louisville has not had massive lines (so far).
If you had believed the celebrities tweeting about #AllEyesOnKentucky without actual data, then yeah, it would have been 6 hours. So far, so good.
If you had believed the celebrities tweeting about #AllEyesOnKentucky without actual data, then yeah, it would have been 6 hours. So far, so good.
13. Lexington, 9 am. Wait times are about an hour.
One big difference between Louisville (no lines now) and Lex is anyone could show up for early voting in Lou, but voters needed appointment in Lex. Maybe made a difference?
One big difference between Louisville (no lines now) and Lex is anyone could show up for early voting in Lou, but voters needed appointment in Lex. Maybe made a difference?
14. Lexington, 9:30. Wait times remain at about an hour, maybe a little less now after morning rush. @AmyMcGrathKY campaign handing out gloves and masks. 
15. Paducah: 5 minute wait.
16. A CONCERN: Some voters, mostly in Lou and Lex, have said online ballot tracker shows mailed-in ballot not received. Election officials say there's a backlog of ballots to scan. Some are going before county boards to void ballot and vote in person.
17. It's raining in Louisville (to the tune of "Raining in Baltimore" by my favorite band @CountingCrows).
18: Lexington wait time holding steady at 1 hour. Sounds like the check-in process is slowing things down (one of the things I had said I would be watching for):
19. Western Kentucky: 5 minute wait
20. Lexington: it appears that the check-in process is the chokehold and is creating the wait time of about an hour. Hope they can address this as the day goes on. I'm heading over there soon to check things out.
21. Lexington: pizza is on the way!
22. Lexington. Starting to hear more concerning reports now about wait times. I sure hope they can fix the check-in process, which is apparently the bottleneck.
23. Lexington: Don Blevins is working to add scanners. Wait times back to an hour, I'm told.
24. Lexington. Went for a run to the stadium. Just talked to a voter who said it took her 1 hour and 40 minutes to vote. Not good. Line is orderly and people seem in good spirits. Plenty of water. Some brought chairs.
25. Lexington. It took a voter about 15 seconds to drop off her absentee ballot.
26. Just heard chants of C-A-T-S, CATS CATS CATS!, in case we forgot where we are. But no football games today!
27. Line in Lexington is up to 2 hours.
I’ve heard from multiple sources, including @heraldleader (buy a subscription!) that they will be adding more tablets to ease check-in soon. It’s sorely needed right now.
I’ve heard from multiple sources, including @heraldleader (buy a subscription!) that they will be adding more tablets to ease check-in soon. It’s sorely needed right now.
28. Line is longer now in Lex than when I arrived. And it starting raining again.
Off to run back home! Need to shower before TV interviews—I don’t want them to smell me through Zoom! 😉
Off to run back home! Need to shower before TV interviews—I don’t want them to smell me through Zoom! 😉
29. Meanwhile Louisville looks good still. So it’s Lexington that’s the big problem right now due to too few check in spots. Hope they fix that soon.
Ok, off to run in the rain!
Ok, off to run in the rain!
30. Still at Lexington polling place. Sun is back out. Voters staying in line. Officials walking up and down the line. People in good spirits.
But let me be clear that a 2 hour wait is COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE and election officials must fix the check-in problem NOW.
But let me be clear that a 2 hour wait is COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE and election officials must fix the check-in problem NOW.
31. Lexington: @drdesrochers doing great work at Kroger Field. Says lines are starting to ease up:
32. Louisville lines still looking pretty good. But apparently there have been some parking issues, via @Billy_Kobin:
33. Kenton County (just south of Cincinnati): looking pretty good
34. Report from Bowling Green, KY:
35. Anecdote from Grant County:
36. The food truck at Louisville's polling place seems to be popular. But still no voting lines for all of those 600k voters in one place! (Maybe in part because so many voted by mail or voted early?)
37. More from Louisville: it was "super fast"
38. Campbell County: looking great!
39. Bowling Green. Not sure what time this @heraldleader video was taken, but it shows a fairly long line: kentucky.com/news/article24…
40. Update from @KYSecState Communications Director
@Mirandacombs27: 98,000 in person voters statewide as of 2:45 EST.
Compare that to over 800k absentee ballots requested, with over 400k returned as of yesterday.
@Mirandacombs27: 98,000 in person voters statewide as of 2:45 EST.
Compare that to over 800k absentee ballots requested, with over 400k returned as of yesterday.
41. More turnout projections statewide, per @KYSecState:
42. The reason for the slowdown in Lexington, per @drdesrochers:
(Will this tweet thread make it to 100?!)
(Will this tweet thread make it to 100?!)
43. @HillaryClinton had also tweeted about the "disaster" that would be 600k voting in one polling place. Seems the tune has changed...
44. 3:30 update from @Mirandacombs27 on turnout: almost 104k voting in person today so far. Again, combine that with over 400k absentee ballots returned and thousands more coming in today and over next couple of days (if postmarked by today).
45. Pike County (eastern KY), steady stream of voters, but no long lines:
46. Kenton County: no wait to vote!
47. I'm on TV at 4:00!
48. Anecdote from Owensboro:
49. Back to Lexington, and wait times back down about an hour, per @lbblackford.
Not ideal, but not the 6 hours so many had predicted.
Not ideal, but not the 6 hours so many had predicted.
50. Barren County (not being from KY originally, I had to look up where that is. It's Glasgow, just east of Bowling Green):
51. CNN joins the fun! @jeffzeleny
52. Oldham County 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
53: Henderson County. (As an aside, local newspapers are SO important for democracy)
54. Paducah (from earlier today):
55. I’m back at the stadium in Lexington. Oof. Lines are longer than before. One voter told me it took an hour and a half. @HamiltonMusical is playing. There’s pizza and water. Still...
56. Guy with a dog came up to drop off his absentee ballot. Had his dog with him. His dog now has an “I Voted” sticker on his collar.
57. There’s lots of pizza available for those waiting in line.
There are a lot of people waiting in line. Polls close in 2 min. I’m guessing people will be voting until 8.
Really disappointed that people are having to wait this long to vote. It’s not 6 hours but it’s not ok.
There are a lot of people waiting in line. Polls close in 2 min. I’m guessing people will be voting until 8.
Really disappointed that people are having to wait this long to vote. It’s not 6 hours but it’s not ok.
58. Ballot drop off is closed.
59. Just counted one of the two lines in Lexington at poll closing time. There are 109 people in that line outside of the stadium. Then there’s a smaller wait inside.
And one person just showed up but there’s an official at the end saying the line is closed. #KYPrimary
And one person just showed up but there’s an official at the end saying the line is closed. #KYPrimary
60. Ok, this line just started moving a little faster. Maybe they will be done closer to to 7:30.
Not good. But not 4 or 6 hours. Today has mostly been a success.
Not good. But not 4 or 6 hours. Today has mostly been a success.
61. Major problems with the poll closing in Louisville. Apparently the back up was not the line to vote but the line to go into the parking lot. This is not a good scene:
62. I haven't yet seen a copy of the @Booker4KY injunction to extend the poll closing time to 7:30 in Louisville. But this will be interesting to watch.
62. BREAKING: Polls opened back up in Louisville to anyone there at 6:30 due to court injunction.
64 (last tweet should have been 63). Unclear if Louisville injunction applies to those in parking lot waiting to go in. @joesonka reporting it is for those who were outside doors. I haven't seen a copy of an order (Someone please send it if you have it!).
65. I'm about to go on @CWLexington...
66. Threats of more lawsuits. But I'm hearing that they *did* let everyone who was outside the building in to vote.
Not sure if there were people still in the parking lot, though.
Not sure if there were people still in the parking lot, though.
67. It appears the parking lot in Louisville is closed.
68. Louisville voting is done:
69. Here was the handwritten (!) order from a KY state judge keeping polls open in Louisville until 6:30. I've never seen something like this before (in the modern era). h/t @ClarkEmbree
70. Final voter in Lexington finished just after 8:00, two hours after polls closed.
Again, a 2 hour wait is unacceptable. But we didn't have voters waiting all night like in other states. So this still qualifies as a modest success. via @drdesrochers
Again, a 2 hour wait is unacceptable. But we didn't have voters waiting all night like in other states. So this still qualifies as a modest success. via @drdesrochers
71. Probably my last tweet in this thread. Didn't make it to 100. Oh well. Here's some post-voting analysis:
