The Owensboro Chapter of the NAACP, the Public Life Foundation of Owensboro, and the Citizens Committee on Wednesday publicly detailed their concerns about the locations of Daviess County’s polling places for next week’s General Election. The groups collectively said they “believe this is an equity issue that shows insensitivity and a lack of inclusiveness from leadership in our community.”
County Clerk Leslie McCarty issued a statement Wednesday detailing the reasons for the locations, and additionally addressed how they can approach the issue for future elections.
Officials with the three concerned groups spoke publicly Wednesday on the Daviess County Courthouse lawn. Public Life Found Executive Director Joe Berry said plainly that the number of polling centers limits access to the voters.
“We believe the limited number of polling places in the city of Owensboro raises questions of equal access to voting, especially for minority groups and people without personal transportation,” Berry said.
According to County Clerk Leslie McCarty, her office tried to select polling places that were within a 2-mile radius of most residents.
“While efforts have been made to assure that all polling places in the city are within a 2-mile radius of most residents, the selection of polling locations was not done in an inclusive manner for neighborhoods with a higher concentration of Black residents,” Berry said. “We are very supportive of having polling places geographically distributed in the rural areas of Daviess County and would not suggest changes to the access to the polls in rural areas. But we think this is an equity issue specific to locations in the urban core.”
Of the 12 locations, only two are contained within the Wendell Ford Expressway (commonly known as the bypass) — one at Owensboro Christian Church and another at Third Baptist Church. In addition to those, there’s technically a third location within city limits — at Legacy Church, which was the former Malco Theater.
Dr. Nick Brake, with the Citizens Committee, said that both locations inside the bypass will individually serve 18,000 of the voting-age citizens in Owensboro.
While this election cycle marks an increase in the number of voting centers since the legislation change in the 2020 election, Owensboro NAACP President Rhondalyn Randolph said it is a quality over quantity issue.
“If you look at where the Sportscenter is, the neighborhoods that it took care of [during elections], it is one of the highest concentrations of poverty in our community and one of the highest concentrations of minority residents,” Randolph said.
The Sportscenter was notably not among the polling locations this election, with McCarty saying the gymnasium wasn’t available and only using the lobby and hallways was not feasible. Third Baptist Church is serving as the replacement. The church is 1.4 miles northeast of the Sportscenter.
Randolph suggested the Clerk’s Office should have used elementary schools such as Cravens and Foust on the west end.
The NAACP and other citizen groups are working to provide transportation and support to those citizens who need assistance in getting to the polls.
In a joint statement, the organizations said “The data very clearly show the inequity and access challenges that these polling locations present to certain segments of our community. The lack of sensitivity to the needs of all citizens and lack of inclusivity could have a discriminatory affect on voting behaviors among segments of the community.”
Going forward, the three group officials said they are hoping an ongoing community conversation prevents the same incident from happening again in the future. They said they have already seen change since they first raised the issue during a City Commission meeting in mid-October.
McCarty issued a statement Wednesday morning addressing some of the concerns.
She noted that Gov. Andy Beshear and Secretary of State Michael Adams signed emergency orders during the pandemic to utilize voting centers instead of precincts. The ability to use voting centers has resulted in the number of polling places dwindling significantly.
McCarty said with Daviess County currently having 56 precincts, that would mean they’d need at least 38 polling places under the old setup. They’ve instead gone with voting centers.
“We do not have the pool of poll workers needed to fill 38 locations,” McCarty said. “We recently purchased new election equipment with the plan of having 15 vote centers. This includes enough scanners, printers, e-poll books and voting booths for absentee mail-in ballots, in-house absentee voting, early voting, election day voting and spares for any malfunctions.”
The 12 locations were approved in September. The Clerk’s Office posted about the locations on their Facebook Page and website on September 19, and Owensboro Times reported the locations on September 20.
Regarding the Sportscenter, McCarty said the Board of Elections decided to not use the building for the election due to the lack of space and the price of the facility.
“At the end of the 2022 Primary we were told that the gym floor would not be an option for the election. The hallway/lobby area in front of the concession stand would not have been adequate for the amount of voters that are expected to vote on the constitutional amendments (in the General),” McCarty said. “Also, in the 2022 May Primary, the original price that was quoted to us to use the lobby in front of the concession stand was $10,000. This was to include setting up the election, delivery and storage of election equipment and having Sportscenter staff available. It was essentially reduced to $6,500.”
In selecting Third Baptist Church as the replacement for the Sportscenter, McCarty said it’s only 1.4 miles away, has a large parking lot, is handicap-accessible, and has the bus station across the street.
McCarty said schools were initially considered, but the Board of Elections soon learned they were not options. Polling centers have to adhere to 11 different requirements set forth by the State Board of Elections.
“Some areas that we are allowed to use in the schools, like cafeteria and hallways, are not large enough to accommodate voting centers,” McCarty said. “The gyms, though ideal, may not be centrally located in the building and would cause voters to walk a long way to the polling location. Some schools, like Foust, do not have adequate parking and would not meet the requirement to have large parking. Also, many teachers have in-service trainings and so poll workers are not the only ones in the building. We had trouble with a school last year with lack of cell and internet service. Due to these connectivity issues we could not communicate with poll workers and office staff. Schools also aren’t available to be early voting centers due because school is in session during early voting.”
McCarty said they are trying to find permanent polling centers so they don’t have to keep hopping between locations.
Since the conversation began about the inconvenience of not having the SportsCenter, the venue’s management company has promised to hold dates and use of the gym floor for election cycles for the next 5 years, according to McCary.
“I think it’s a great step forward,” she said. “Our election plans are not set in stone. Every election actually they are reviewed and they have to be submitted to the State Board of Elections and locally we are always open to hearing suggestions.”
For reference, the following locations will serve as voting centers on Tuesday:
- Owensboro Christian Church
2818 New Hartford Road, Owensboro - Third Baptist Church
527 Allen Street, Owensboro - Highland Elementary
2909 Highway 54, Owensboro - Audubon Elementary
300 Worthington Road, Owensboro - Legacy Church (former Malco Theater)
5333 Frederica Street, Owensboro - Yellow Creek Baptist Church
5741 Highway 144, Owensboro - St. Martin Catholic Church
5856 KY-81, Owensboro - Masonville Baptist Church
6601 US 231, Utica - St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church
7232 KY-56, Owensboro - Whitesville Baptist Church
10167 KY-54, Whitesville - Mary Carrico Catholic Church
9546 KY-144, Philpot - Utica Fire Department
146 KY-140, Utica
