The deadline to request an absentee mail-in ballot for the May 21 primary election is approaching.
“That portal is available through May 7,” said Hardin County Clerk Brian D. Smith during the most recent Hardin County Fiscal Court meeting. “You can go to govote.ky.gov. You can feel free to stop by our office or call our elections team. When you call our office, we’ll walk you through govote.ky.gov so you can order and request that absentee ballot.”
After the mail-in portal closes, voters that qualify can take advantage of in-person absentee voting.
“There are six days in which a person who qualifies for the same qualifications for absentee voting can come by the clerk’s office from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,” Smith said. “Those dates are May 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, and 15.”
The same qualifications for a mail-in absentee voting apply to in-person absentee voting, but allow the voter to cast their votes as they would on Election Day.
“Some of those qualifications are if you’ll be out of town or scheduled to work all dates and times of in-person voting,” Smith said. “The law uses the phrase ‘age, illness, and disability.’ Sometimes those words ring a little harsh on our ears. There is no definitive age, illness, or disability. We don’t ask. You just attest to it.”
Smith is also reminding Hardin County residents about the free PropertyCheck program available through the clerk’s office.
“If any document is recorded in our office, you’ll get an email and text alert,” Smith said. “I think a lot of folks are really concerned about identity theft, and there are, growing in other parts of the country, property crimes related to fraudulent filings. It’s not a huge problem, but we want to get ahead of it and not be behind it.”
Contact the clerk’s office or visit their website for more information.
