LOUISVILLE, Ky. — At 8:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, four polling places in Louisville opened their doors for the first of 18 days of early voting.
Lines formed at the beginning of the day but crowds thinned at lunchtime as thousands of voters, nearly all in masks, took advantage of expanded voting opportunities amid the pandemic. We caught up with eight voters and asked them why they came out to vote, why they did so on the first day of early voting, and why it’s so important to cast their ballot in 2020.
On voting in person
“There’s just too much confusion. It just seems safer to do it in person.”
On concerns with mail-in ballots
"The mail is slow. I’ve had a couple cases myself where I mailed a package to Hawaii. It’s been three months and my daughter has still not gotten the package. If you can’t do domestic mail, I wouldn’t trust you with my ballot.”
On voting in person
“I go to school near Cincinnati but I live in Louisville. All my classes are online. It's my first day of fall break so it wasn’t a big hassle to come out and vote."
On the importance of voting in 2020
“I wasn’t old enough to vote in the last presidential election. This is my first. So it was really important for me to have a say in who our next leader might be. The current one has done a lot of harm to a lot of people I know and love. It’s important to me to do my part to try to make sure that does not occur again.”
On voting in person
“I didn’t want to take any chances. I feel secure with the computer and everything her. You have to have an ID. I think that’s great. We need it nationwide.”
On the voting process
“It was super, super smooth. Very good. As long as I have my ID, and that’s important."
On voting in person
“I just wanted to make sure my vote counted. I didn’t want to have a situation with an absentee ballot that made it invalid. If you tear off a certain strip, it’s invalid. I wanted to make sure my vote counted.”
On voting on the first day of early voting
“This is an important race for us, my wife and I. We’re hard working, middle class citizens and there’s a lot on the line this year. Look at our country. We have things going on that are unprecedented: record unemployment, a pandemic, natural disasters. I think people are looking for something to be done, regardless of what party you choose.”
On voting in person
“I just wanted to make sure my vote is counted. I think mail-in ballots are good, but felt a need to be here in person. I actually voted by mail in the primary. But something has changed.”
On the significance of voting in 2020
“This is the biggest thing in my life. It’s the absolute most on my mind. I think it’s the biggest vote I’ve ever cast in my entire life.”
On voting in person
“I just don’t feel that the main-in ballots are as secure.”
On the importance of voting in 2020
“I just graduated high school. Throughout high school I had to see Trump’s presidency play out and I think it’s important now more than ever for the younger generation to get involved in politics.”
On voting in person
"I feel like it’s just easier to come up here. It’s my first time actually voting, so it’s also about the experience for me."
On the significance of voting in 2020
"Donald Trump has got to go. He’s racist. He hasn’t taken care of COVID. He’s not for racial justice. He’s just terrible.”
On why the changes to voting procedures should stick
“Not everybody has access to everything, like cars. Some people might not have the internet, so they can come in person. It’s better that way.”
On voting in person
“I wanted my vote to count. It’s an honor to be an American and have the privilege to vote. It’s not that I don’t trust our absentee ballots because our military has had to do it forever. I’m a firm believer in everybody having the right to vote. I’m glad we’re being able to use that freedom in this country.”
On new voting procedures
"At first I was a little concerned about it, but I think it went very well today. I thank all the volunteers because in this pandemic, people are being exposed."