Clerk provides important dates, information

BY PHILL BARNETT
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

INEZ — Nov. 8 is Election Day across the U.S. While several races were unofficially settled by the primaries in May, votes to decide U.S. Senate and House of Representatives races, local elections and state constitutional amendments are on the ballot next month in Martin County.

Martin County Clerk Susie Skyles is preparing for the upcoming election. On Monday, the clerk provided important dates and information for voters.

The last day to register to vote in the general election is Oct. 11.

“If you haven’t registered to vote, you need to do that now,” Skyles said.

Mailed registrations will be accepted if postmarked by Oct. 11.

Online registrations must be completed by 4 p.m. Registration at the clerk’s office may be completed until the close of business.

How to Vote

For the general election Nov. 8, there will be four ways to vote across Kentucky: In-person Excused Absentee Early Voting, In-person No-excuse Absentee Early Voting, by Mail-in Absentee ballot and In-person on Election Day.

Mail-in Absentee ballot –

Sept. 24-Oct. 25

Mail-in Absentee ballots may be requested at the County Clerk’s office by calling 606-298-2810 or online at https://vrsws.sos.ky.gov/abrweb/. The deadline to apply is Oct. 25. 

Mail-in voters will receive a paper ballot that they must complete and return by Election Day. Ballots may be mailed or placed in a drop-box at the County Clerk’s office. If mailing an absentee ballot, the ballot must be received by the County Clerk by 6 p.m. Nov. 8 to be counted in the general election. 

“I’ve been working in the clerk’s office, and been clerk, for over 17 years,” said Skyles. “Paper ballots have always been a big part of elections.”

If you receive a mail-in ballot but decide to vote in person on Election Day, the deadline to return your mail-in paper ballot to the county clerk’s office is Nov. 1.

In-person Excused Absentee Early Voting –

Oct. 26-28, Oct. 31-Nov. 2

If registered voters cannot vote in person on Election Day, they can vote in-person in the Martin County Clerk’s Office Oct. 26-28 and Oct. 31-Nov. 2.

Elderly voters and those who work outside the county or attend school full-time and will not be able to vote on Election Day are eligible to vote during these dates.

In-person No-excuse Absentee Early Voting –

Nov. 3-5

All voters are eligible to cast an early ballot Nov. 3-5 with no excuse necessary.

In-person absentee ballots may be cast at the County Clerk’s office and follow the same procedure as Election Day ballots.

In-person absentee ballots will be counted as normal votes on Election Day at their respective precincts.

“I am waiting for the state to release the hours that I can have excused absentee early voting and no-excuse absentee early voting,” said Skyles, adding that her office would be open for Saturday voting Nov. 5.

In-person on Election Day –

Nov. 8

The last chance to vote in the general election is on Election Day, Nov. 8. Precincts in Kentucky will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. There are four Election Day polling centers in Martin County this year:

• Pigeon Roost Community Center
• Martin County Middle School
• Inez Elementary School
• Eden Elementary School

There are 14 voting precincts in Martin County. Your voting precinct will determine the contents of your ballot. Voters should have received notification of their precinct and polling location by mail but can contact the County Clerk’s office to find out as well. 

All voters registered in Martin County can vote at any of the four polling centers but will receive the ballot for their official home precinct. 

When arriving at the polling center, voters will first check in with a poll worker and show an official government or school ID unless the poll worker personally knows them.

Voters are not required to disclose their political party for the general election.

Once a voter has checked in, they will be given a perforated card to place in the voting machine. The machine will prompt the voter to make a selection for each race and ballot measure. Once the voter has confirmed their selections, the machine will print a code onto the perforated card, which the voter will then scan through a separate machine that will tally the precinct’s results.

Skyles said the machines used for voting are never connected to the internet and are stored in a locked room with camera surveillance when not in use.

“At 6 p.m. on Election Day, the sheriff at each polling place will go to the back of the line, and no one else will be able to get in that line to vote,” said Skyles.

Races and Ballot Measures

Each voter will receive a ballot specific to the precinct in which they live. All ballots in Martin County will be the same except for city races in Inez and Warfield and Magistrate, Constable and School Board races in each district. 

National and state representatives

The first race on the ballot in Kentucky is for a seat in the U.S. Senate between incumbent Republican Rand Paul and Democratic challenger Charles Booker.

The 5th Congressional District (including Martin County) will be voting for their U.S. Representative in Congress. Republican incumbent Hal Rogers will be facing off against Democrat Conor Halbleib.

Bobby W. McCool will be running unopposed for Kentucky State Representative of the 97th Representative District.

Judicial Ballot

Sara Combs is running unopposed for Judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals 7th Appellate District, 2nd Division.

Larry E. Thompson is running unopposed for Judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals 7th Appellate District, 1st Division.

Adam Scott O’Bryan is running unopposed for Judge “Family Court” in the 24th Circuit, 1st Division.

John Kevin Holbrook and David Matt Runyon are facing off in the Circuit Judge race in the 24th Circuit, 2nd Division.

John T. Chafin is running unopposed for District Judge in the 24th District, 1st Division.

David Brett Butcher is running unopposed for District Judge in the 24th District, 2nd Division.

County elections

Many Martin County local elections feature a single candidate on the ballot this year. However, write-in candidates are permitted, so races have not yet been officially decided. The deadline is Oct. 28 to file a declaration of intent to run as a write-in candidate.

Republican Colby Kirk is running unopposed for County Judge/Executive.

Republican Bobby Hale is running unopposed for Property Valuation Administrator.

Republican Melissa Fannin Phelps is running unopposed for County Attorney.

Republican Susie Skyles is running unopposed for County Clerk.

Republican John Herman Kirk is running unopposed for Sheriff.

Republican Chris Todd is running unopposed for Coroner.

Republican Bill Preece faces Democrat Jason Jude for Jailer in the only contested countywide partisan election.

No candidate is on the ballot for County Surveyor.

Stephen Bowman, Riley Maynard and Thomas J. Dials are running for Soil and Water Conservation District. Voters will select or write in three candidates for this race.

District elections

Each of the county’s districts will vote for their district’s Magistrate, Constable, and Member of the Board of Education. None of these races are contested. 

City elections

Residents of the cities of Inez and Warfield will vote for mayor and city commissioners.

Incumbent Ed Daniels faces Dennis Hall in the race for Mayor of Inez. 

Terry Fraley, Floyd David Jude, Roy M. Penix and Barry Horn are running for Inez City Commissioner. Voters will select or write in four candidates for this race.

Michael D. Hinkle is unopposed in the Warfield Mayor race.

John P. Sammons, Robert David Bell, Crystal Dawn and Robert Bell are running for Warfield City Commissioner. Voters will select or write in four candidates for this race.

Board of Education elections

Mickey McCoy is unopposed for the District 1 BOE seat.

James Bowie Clark is unopposed in District 2.

Constitutional Amendments

Two amendments to the Kentucky State Constitution will be on the ballot this November.

Constitutional Amendment 1, if passed by the voters of Kentucky, would allow the Kentucky General Assembly to “meet in regular session for 30 legislative days in odd-numbered years, 60 legislative days in even-numbered years, and for no more than 12 additional days during any calendar year” if called together by a joint proclamation from the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House.

The amendment would also provide that acts passed by the General Assembly will become law on July 1 of the same year or 90 days after being signed by the Governor, whichever comes later. In cases of emergency, a bill can become law at time of approval by the Governor.

While the General Assembly is already limited to 30 days in odd-numbered years and 60 days in even-numbered years, the key change is the ability of the legislature to call for a special session. Currently, only the governor may call a special session. This will shift power from the Governor to the legislature.

Another significant change is to extend the last calendar day on which the Assembly can meet from March 30 in odd-numbered years and April 15 in even-numbered years to Dec. 31 in all years.

Constitutional Amendment 2, if passed, will create a new section of the Constitution of Kentucky that says: “To protect human life, nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to secure or protect the right to abortion or require the funding of abortion.”

While the amendment would not explicitly prohibit abortion or the funding of abortion, it eliminates the possibility of interpreting any part of the Constitution of Kentucky to mean these rights are protected.