a block elex 6.23.20

a block elex 6.23.20

A little more than a month... today is primary election day in the commonwealth..

All eyes are on the state because of the contested senate race... and to see how kentuckians will adapt to changes brought by the coronavirus pandemic..

We begin with team coverage for you this morning... alex and cody in boxes abc 36's alex king is live at kroger field -- fayette county's only in-person voting location.

She has more on safety precautions being taken..and how you can make sure to get your vote counted today.

And our cody adams is standing by in studio... with more on the races you'll find on the ballot.

First--- lets go to alex... for more on what today will look like at the polls.

## there were more than 92-thousand requests for absentee ballots and more than 50- thousand have already been returned so fayette county clerk don blevins says they expect a manageable number of people at the polls today.

Blevins says they have taken steps to keep voters and staff safe and healthy during the voting process.

There are barriers to guide voters inside the stadium to continue social distancing guidelines and officers are wearing masks.

Although it is not required for voters to wear a mask... blevins is asking that they do while inside kroger field to take those extra precautions.

"there's no need for anybody to touch or interact directly less c1 3 than six feet because we've got a set up where we can scan their id that will be the only moment that they're actually near someone long enough for someone to scan the barcode on their id."

Ballots must be mailed in before midnight tonight.

According to lexington mayor linda gorton... if you 'haven't' mailed your absentte ballot yet... you can also drop it off here at kroger field between gates 10 and 11 today.

You can vote in person here as well..

Starting at six this morning..until six p-m.

If you need special accomodations..

You can make an appointment to vote at the lexington senior center..

Final results will be posted by next tuesday, june 30th.

Reporting live at kroger field, alex king, abc 36 news.

## alex and cody in boxes thank you alex... let's head over to cody in studio now with more on the contested senate race..

And the other seats that are up for grabs in this years election.

Cody??

## hey erica.... probably the most intriguing and honestly unpredictable races is the democratic seat for u.s. senate with the chance to battle with senator mitch mcconnell in november.

At one point most analysts would have told you amy mcgrath had in the bag.

But some believe the delay in voting due to the pandemic may have helped her opponent charles booker who has made a big surge as of late.

.

In fact a recent poll done by a california based firm shows that charles booker actually leads over amy mcgrath by 8 points.

Now mcgrath's camp told politico this week that three seperate inside polls show her up by double digits with a comfortable lead.

Regardless of what the polls say or don't say... both candidates have done their fair share of political ad spending.

According to the political ad tracker medium buying... mcgrath spent more than $3 million in television and radio spots in just the three weeks ahead of the june 23 primary.

Booker, who was late to put up any ads at all, purchased his first two statewide buys in these final weeks for just over $1 million.

Now here is the caveat to all of this.... the poll only consists of about 900 registered voters.

Most analysts will tell you this race is difficult to decipher simply because covid 19 made polling incredibly difficult.... especially door to door.

Also some of those polled who said they would vote for booker may have already submitted a vote early for mcgrath when it was presumed she would be the winner.

But if the polls are accurate it looks like it's going to be a tight race.

Making a stressfull week for the candidates as they await the results on june 30th.

Now as for that race in november against incumbent senator mitch mcconnell... the same civiq poll has mcconnell easily beating both booker and mcgrath by double digits.

A large part of that could be attributed to the fact that it is a presidential election year and president trumps name is on the ballott.

He won kentucky by 20 points in 2016.

In studio... cody adams abc 36 news.

And lextran is offering free rides to kroger field today... free of charge.

The first shuttle set to leave at six... from the downtown transit center.

After that, a shuttle will leave every 15 to 20 minutes.

It will be non-stop both directions... and will not pick-up or drop-off any passengers along the way.

The last shuttle will leave kroger field at 6:45 tonight.

If you are heading out a polling site today... make sure you come prepared in order to vote.

You'll need valid identification..

Whether that be your driver's license... a government issued i-d card..passport..soc ial security card..or anything that might have your name and a picture.

If you personally know a poll- worker...that works too.

And remember--- you are asked to wear a mask.

## and be on the look out for scams this morning..

State officials say there is a scam..

Encouraging voters to vote by mail..phone..or text.

None of those are legal voting methods in the state.

In some cases-- scammers request personal or financial information to cast a vote..

As always--dont give any personal information out over the phone.

And follow all orders from state and local election officials for your vote to count.

You can report campaign violations, bribery and election fraud just call 1-800-328- vote.

The line is open 6am to 7pm est today ### governor andy beshear has called in the kentucky national guard to help at polling stations across the state today..

234 national guardsmen..

Will be in 45 counties tomorrow.

The governor says the soldiers will not be in uniform.

But they will be helping with traffic control, social distancing, sanitizating and general voter assistance.

"one of the things i did as governor is called up the national guard, to support any county, and any number of their polling centers, to make sure that we're not putting our most vulnerable, which are typically our poll workers um at risk."

Governor beshear says mail-in absentee voting..and early voting has put us on track for a record breaking number of voters for the whole state..

The governor says..statewide..

More than 88- thousand people voted early in- person.

And more than 883- thousand absentee ballots were requested.

According to the governor..

More than 452-thouand ballots have already been returned.

While some precincts may begin reporting results tonight, we likely won't get anything 'official' until june 30th... thats so all mailed in ballots can be counted..

We will keep an eye out for those results... and we'll continue to bring you team coverage throughout the day today..

On air and online at wtvq