Kentucky voters turned out in record numbers for the primary election Tuesday, even as the threat of the novel coronavirus pandemic lingered, thanks to a hotly contested Democratic Senate race and an expanded vote-by-mail program, which generated unprecedented enthusiasm in Bluegrass State politics.
The Democratic Senate primary between progressive state Rep. Charles Booker and retired Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath drove voters out in numbers Kentucky hasn’t seen since 920,000 people cast ballots in the 2008 presidential primary fight between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
Bryan Woolston / Reuters
A sign directs voters on primary election day in Louisville, Kentucky, Tuesday.
Bryan Woolston / Reuters
A voter completes her ballot on primary election day in Louisville Tuesday.
Lexington and Louisville both offered free public transit shuttles to polling locations, but the reliance on solitary voting centers still made it more difficult for voters with limited transportation options to vote ― a fact Kentucky needs to reckon with even if there is no clear and intentional effort to suppress the vote.
