LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A software update that election officials said is designed to safeguard Tuesday’s vote caused long lines at numerous voting precincts around Jefferson County on Election Day.
Outside Jeffersontown High School, at least 100 people were in line well before the polls opened at 6 a.m. The line seemed to be moving smoothly at first, but then things slowed down. And reports began to come from several other precincts around Louisville as well, workers saying their machines were crashing and there delays signing voters in on tablets.
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Ashley Tinius, a spokesperson for the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office, said workers sometimes don’t power up the machines until the polls open, and they can take awhile to come online.
“The machines that we use are called ‘E-Poll Books,’ and they had run an update when they started this morning,” Tinius said. “So if the election officers had those on right at 5 when they got here, they would have had more time to warm up. But, sometimes, they don’t get those on until right before the voters show up at 6.
“So it’s taken a little while for the machines to get that update ran, but it is starting to move more quickly here where we are.”
Nailah Spencer with the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office said the the system update is actually maintaining the integrity of the election by making sure people who cast an absentee ballot or voted early don’t try to vote again.
“We had about 113,000 people that were able to vote over the course of three days, not to mention we also have our absentee voters,” Spencer said, referencing Jefferson County’s no-excuse, in-person early voting period. “So what’s happening is the system — the e-poll books — as soon as the election officers turn it on, it’s updating with all the information that have already voted. So what it is doing — a positive thing — is it’s upholding the integrity of the election. It’s making sure that anybody that has already voted isn’t able to come in and vote again.”
Despite the delays, Spencer said it’s still faster than signing in by hand.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said in a written statement Tuesday morning that local employers should “provide flexibility and understanding” to their employees stuck in line. He also called on the Jefferson County and State Boards of Elections to consider extending hours at the polls. But not long after Greenberg issued his statement, Tinius responded, saying there are no plans to extend hours.
“We have no intention of keeping polls open later than 6, and we would appreciate if the mayor would refrain from telling us how to do our job,” she said in a written statement. “We take this very seriously, and we are very confident that everyone will be able to vote by 6pm today.”
The Kentucky Democratic Party filed a motion in Jefferson Circuit Course requesting polls remain open until 8 p.m.
“After receiving numerous reports of technical issues causing severe delays and infringing on Kentuckians’ constitutional right to vote, we immediately filed a motion to request that the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office extend polling hours until 8 p.m. ET,” Morgan Eaves, executive director of the party, said in a written statement Tuesday afternoon. “We will use all legal means necessary to ensure that every single Kentuckian eligible to vote has the ability to do so.”
The motion said voters will be “irreparably harmed” if the hours aren’t extended.
“At no fault of their own, voters have been deprived of their right to vote between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. because electronic systems operated by Defendant necessary to cast a ballot were not functional,” the motion reads. “The two-hour extension is necessary to remedy the functional closing of polling locations between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. election day morning.”
The ACLU of Kentucky said in a written statement Tuesday that the “lack of preparedness from our County Clerk is inexcusable” and that the burden now falls to voters to find more time in their day to vote.
“We encourage all voters to stay in line so that their voices may be heard,” Legal Director Corey Shapiro said. “We are exploring all options, including litigation, to ensure every eligible voter in Jefferson County can access the ballot box today.”
‘Are you kidding?’
Tim Rhea said he was in line outside Jeffersontown High School around 6:10 a.m. He said an election worker told him the issue “was connected to the early voting, and the data just sort of backed up. … Bring your patience.
“I stood in line at least 20-25 minutes,” Rhea said. “I was like third in line. So the lines are building up. I’m sure there’s a lot of people voting. But, really, the backup is more their system. … The guy next to me hadn’t moved the whole time I was here.”
Steve Hawkins, who voted Tuesday morning at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Shively, said the polling locations should have been more prepared for the turnout.
“They said ‘Well, we weren’t expecting this,'” Hawkins said. “Are you kidding? Are you kidding? It’s 2024. The presidential election. Uncalled for.”
Across town at Doss High School, Pam Sweet said she arrived at 7 a.m., waited until 9:30 a.m. and then left to make a doctor’s appointment. By lunch time, she’d returned to cast her vote.
“I was eight people away from getting my ballot,” Sweet said. “… I am going to stay this time.”
John Boyd, a poll worker at Kammerer Middle School, said they were unable to scan driver’s licenses at that location.
“From what I understand, the system that checks you in that brings your name up is being affected by downtown computer slowdown,” Boyd said. “So it’s happening all over the county, from what I understand. We cannot scan the back of your driver’s license right now and haven’t been since 6 a.m., which would be a faster way to get people through.
Tinius said there has been no confirmation that voters were turned away and said an election center director told her they have heard no reports of voters being turned away.
“It could be an issue of voters showing up and seen the long lines because of the update the E-Poll Books are running, and, perhaps, the voters themselves are leaving,” Tinius said. “But we encourage everyone to stay. Don’t leave. Make your voice heard.”
“So we have to type each person’s name in to get their system up, and, once that comes up, everything is so slow the tablets are timing out. So they’ll have to be rebooted about every fifth or sixth person.”
Boyd said election officials told him they expected to have the issues corrected later in the morning. He encouraged people to come back if they get tired of waiting in line.
“If you get here at 6 p.m., I don’t care if you’re lined up clear back to the football field,” Boyd said. “You’re going to get to vote.”
If you have any issues to report, call 502-574-6100 or 800-328-VOTE (8683).
Lines began to form at Kammerer Middle School on Election Day. (Photo from WDRB’s Joel Schipper) Nov. 5, 2024
This story will be updated.
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