Crittenden County’s election plan for the May 17, 2022, primary that cuts down the number of polling locations from 12 to five was approved yesterday by they State Board of Elections.
This summer, Crittenden County Board of Elections submitted a consolidation plan that would maintain rural Election Day voting sites in the Tolu-Sheridan area, the far southern and eastern parts of the county and in Mattoon. It also creates one county-wide voting center in Marion. This combining of precincts allowed the fiscal court to purchase fewer election machines and cuts the number of poll workers needed.
The plan will save county taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars on the cost of new voting equipment and hundreds of dollars on election workers who are increasingly difficult to find for staffing each election.
“The local board of elections put in a lot of work to devise a plan that both saves the county money on updating voting equipment and adequately serves voters,” said Crittenden County Clerk Daryl Tabor. “And with turnout so low for primary elections, even when contested like next year’s local races, it doesn’t make sense to staff 12 voting locations when we no longer have to.”
In the 2018 local primaries, only 19.9 percent of voters cast a ballot.
Next May, all District 2 voting will take place in Sheridan, taking in those who usually vote in Tolu. Both Frances precincts will vote at Mexico Baptist Church, while Shady Grove and Mattoon will vote as always. All six precincts that voted at separate locations inside the City of Marion will now vote at Marion Baptist Church. In fact, any voter in the county will be able to vote there on Election Day.
In addition to Election Day, there will only three days of early voting on Thursday, May 12 through Saturday, May 14. Mail-in balloting will also be available for a handful of voters like the elderly, sick, care-takers or people who might be out of town during early voting and on Election Day.
Additionally, last week it was learned that the county will receive no less than $26,400 in federal Help America Vote Act grant money to reimburse the budget for part of the roughly $120,000 spent on new voting equipment.
All voting equipment will now produce a paper trail, and one scanning device can be used to collect votes from multiple precincts.
“And to help dispel some of the mistruths intending to cast doubt on the integrity of elections in Kentucky, no voting machines has ever or will be connected to the internet,” said Tabor. “The only way to hack them is to physically break into the devices, which are individually secured and collectively locked away when not in use.”
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