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I know what happened in Louisville with the voting yesterday. It's my hometown. Without comment on it, here are some things you need to know before commenting just so you don't get into the weeds with a bad faith arguer and miss the real issue in how the election was conducted:
1. Polls have opened at 6 am and closed at 6 pm in Kentucky for as long as I can remember. The hours were not changed for this election.
2. A Jefferson County judge signed an injunction ordering anyone "on the pavement" 6:30 pm outside the Expo center be allowed in.
2. A Jefferson County judge signed an injunction ordering anyone "on the pavement" 6:30 pm outside the Expo center be allowed in.
3. The Fair and Expo center is probably the single largest complex in Jefferson County. It's not a gymnasium.
4. Traffic into and out of the Fair and Expo center is a fucking nightmare, especially because of Ring Road. Officials knew this in advance.
4. Traffic into and out of the Fair and Expo center is a fucking nightmare, especially because of Ring Road. Officials knew this in advance.
5. The Commonwealth Convention Center is in the heart of downtown Louisville, as is the Yum Center, and both could have been second precincts.
6. Mail in voting was allowed. A little under half the registered voters in Jefferson County requested mail in ballots.
6. Mail in voting was allowed. A little under half the registered voters in Jefferson County requested mail in ballots.
7. Voting at the Fair and Expo center actually went on all of last week as well, from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday. A Saturday voting day would have helped, though.
8. The GOP did not "steal" this election. It was a primary. The odds of Mitch McConnell not getting the primary win for the GOP were approximately 0.
9. The important national race that WAS likely affected was the Democratic primary between Amy McGrath and Charles Booker.
9. The important national race that WAS likely affected was the Democratic primary between Amy McGrath and Charles Booker.
10. McGrath is a more "establishment" candidate in Kentucky from the Bluegrass region. Booker is a more progressive, black candidate from Jefferson County. Jefferson County impropriety would likely have helped McGrath, not hurt McConnell.
11. Even with all of this, it is obvious there are problems in the reduced precinct, early voting, and mail in voting system in place in Jefferson County that need to be addressed well before November, so keep talking about it.
12. You have no idea the mental gymnastics I went through last night trying to knee jerk defend my hometown before I sat down and thought about the known-to-any-local issues that were present in having one precinct at the Fair and Expo center.
