LEXINGTON, Ky. _ An unusual election day in Kentucky brought long waits for voters in Fayette County, where long lines stretched around Kroger Field throughout the day.
There was a line of voters on hand before Fayette County's only polling place _ Kroger Field _opened at 6 a.m. At 10:30 a.m., the wait time to vote was about an hour and 15 minutes. Many were allowing older voters to get ahead in line.
Fayette County Clerk Don Blevins Jr. said turnout was higher than expected and his office added more check-in stations in the middle of the day so the line of voters could move faster. Blevins said there were only four check-in stations because of space constraints in the stadium's hospitality clubs, where the voting machines were located, but he had squeezed in two more later Tuesday afternoon.
Still, the lines grew longer in the final hours of the day as people got off work and headed to vote.
County clerks in Kentucky were encouraged to use as many check-in stations and voting booths as possible to help accommodate voters. Voters said there were plenty of voting booths at Kroger Field, but the limited number of check-in stations created a logjam.
Many people were outside, without cover, shortly after noon when a brief but heavy rain drenched them as they waited in line.
No other counties were experiencing long lines of voters, according to Miranda Combs, spokeswoman for the secretary of state's office, but at least one video showed a long line outside a voting location at Phil Moore Park in Warren County. In Jefferson County, where the only polling site was at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center, people were moving through quickly.
Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams said he expected 1.1 million votes to be cast. That would be about 32% of Kentucky's registered voters, he said, hoping the turnout would beat the most recent high of 32.2% in 2008.
"Overall, I'm very pleased," he said. "This is a great turnout under any circumstances. It shows the great things we can do together."
Adams, a Republican, and Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear agreed on a plan to allow voters to choose whether to vote in person or use absentee ballots they could mail to their county clerks or drop them off at a designated spot.
Asked why there were so many voters for a primary election to select party nominees for the November general election, Adams said the times are "politically charged" and people want to express their opinions.
He said Tuesday's election in Kentucky showed the need for more polling places to be open in November.
"There's no way we can conduct November's general election, with higher turnout expected, without more polling places," he said.
Asked if he would support mailed-in absentee ballots in the fall's election, a move President Donald Trump opposes, Adams said, "It's too soon to say. That is 4 { months away. If you had asked me 4 { months ago if we needed mailed-in ballots for this primary election, I would have said no. We have seen that things can change a lot real fast."
The State Board of Elections limited the number of in-person polling places in the state to curb the spread of COVID-19 amid a shortage of poll workers and pushed for people to fill out absentee ballots. The Kentucky National Guard helped staff several polling locations around the state, though not in Lexington.
Voter Christine Hollock, 35, said she understood the wait time in Lexington, saying poll workers were trying to keep everyone safe. Most people at Kroger Field were wearing masks but some were not.
Hollock, who was in line with her young daughter, said she was not planning to vote but she got "excited" about Charles Booker.
Booker, a state representative from Louisville, is facing Amy McGrath, Mike Broihier and several lesser-known candidates in the Democratic primary election for U.S. Senate. The winner hopes to oust Republican incumbent Mitch McConnell in the November general election.
There has been national attention on Kentucky's election as national activists and celebrities began claiming Kentucky was trying to limit the number of people who vote after Booker's campaign sent out a fundraising email Saturday morning claiming officials were intentionally suppressing the vote.
Election officials quickly knocked down those claims, pointing out that Kentucky expanded absentee voting access and allowed people to vote early. By Monday, 883,054 Kentuckians had requested an absentee ballot and 452,305 of those had been returned. Another 88,530 had voted early in-person.
Thirty-eight percent of registered voters in Fayette County requested an absentee ballot.
Winfred Jennings, 58, said he wanted to vote in person because he has done so since he was 18.
He was keeping an eye on the gray clouds, saying "this would not be practical" if it were raining hard.
It eventually did rain hard, for around 15 minutes, leaving those without umbrellas dripping wet. By the time a second downpour started around 1:45 p.m., the line was shorter.
A total of 92,611 people requested absentee ballots in Fayette County. As of Monday night, 31,000 had not yet been returned to the clerk's office. That is about one-third of requested ballots still out.
Melissa Whitton, 51, said she requested an absentee ballot but it never arrived in the mail. It took her around an hour and 40 minutes to cast her ballot. She said a health care worker waiting in line with her had the same problem, but he had to leave to go to work.
Absentee ballots must be postmarked no later than June 23 and postage is free. They must be received by June 27 to be counted and final results won't be known until June 30.
Adam Terry, 28, skipped the line at Kroger Field and deposited his ballot in a drop box there. Asked why he didn't mail it in, he said, "I just wanted to make sure it got in the right place."
He said he was relieved he got to skip the line.
"I didn't want to get in a big, huge group with everyone and have to wait for a long time," Terry said.
Laura Rogers, 55, said she voted in person because she found the absentee ballot too complicated.
"It does my heart good to see so many people out here," she said. "So I'll wait as long as I need to."
It took her an hour and 40 minutes to cast her ballot.
In Pulaski County, the situation looked much different. There were multiple polling locations and many people were still coming out to vote in person.
Ashley Steele, an election officer at the voting place at the independent school in Science Hill, said she was surprised at the number of older voters coming out.
"I thought maybe they'd try to stay safe and mail in their ballots," she said.
Mark Vaught, the county election coordinator, said there had been no problems reported.
"It's running just as smooth as can be," he said.
At Pike County Central High School, there were no lines but a steady stream of voters.
As of 3 p.m. Tuesday, Attorney General Daniel Cameron said his election hotline _ 800-328-VOTE (800-328-8683) _ had received 94 complaints. Most involved legal and procedural questions. A few mentioned fraud but no details were given.
