LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — The deadline to request an absentee ballot in Fayette County is fast approaching. Voters have until Friday, October 9th, at 11:59 p.m.
It's not a lot of time to meet Fayette County Clerk Don Blevins Jr's goal.
"My goal was about 120,000 ballots via the mail," said Blevins. "We're sitting just shy of 90,000 right now, so we need to go quite a bit higher to be comfortable that our in-person locations with have a capacity sufficient for everyone and also to vote that way."
With limited in-person voting options because of the pandemic, Blevins is urging more voters to request absentee ballots, in hopes of avoiding long lines like in the primary election.
Blevins says they've started sending out absentee ballots and have already received at least 20,000 back. For those still waiting though, they can track its status.
"If you've requested your ballot by mail, you must vote by mail," said Blevins. "If you've not received your ballot, I would say from seven days after you requested it, you probably should give us a call and make sure everything is okay. If not, we can send you another one just to make sure you get it in plenty of time."
Blevins says to send in your ballot as early as possible, either by mail or through one of the six drop-boxes in Lexington, to make sure it's counted or to give enough time to correct any mistakes.
"There are a lot more protections this time for mailed-in ballots, such that our rejection rate will be very, very low. Very close to zero," said Blevins. "If your signature had an issue, we're going to contact you. If your ballot is hopelessly messed up and we have to reject it, we're going to contact you and tell you. We're going to put it aside and cancel it and then allow you to go vote in-person."
You can request your ballot here.
