Live updates from voters, polls in Louisville

Election Day has arrived and thousands of people across the Commonwealth will head to the polls on Tuesday to vote in what could be a historic 2024 U.S. general election.

In addition to deciding whether former President Donald Trump or current Vice President Kamala Harris becomes the 47th President of the United States, dozens of state and local issues will be on the Kentucky ballot this year, including opt-out measures for Kentucky's medical marijuana- Program and Amendment 2, the Commonwealth's controversial “school choice” issue.

The Courier Journal will provide updates from polling locations across Louisville throughout the day. Follow us for the latest news and results.

Joel Hunt, 49, of Louisville, waits in line to vote at the Beechmont Community Center in the Beechmont neighborhood and is late for work due to problems with the voting machines. Hunt, who works for a trucking company on the edge of Jefferson and Bullitt counties, said he arrived to vote around 6:50 a.m. and the lines weren't moving.

“A poll worker just came and announced that he was still having problems with the computers and didn't have a backup plan. It would be a little late on Election Day not to have a backup plan,” Hunt said. “Nobody has any idea what they're doing, and I don't know why they wouldn't expect record-breaking voter turnout, but they have machines that don't work, they don't have a backup plan, they don't have poll books like they used to.

There have been reports on social media of problems at polling locations elsewhere in Jefferson County, including at Jeffersontown High School and Highview Baptist on Shelbyville Road.

The reported problems with the voting machines were due to a system-wide software update to the “e-pollbooks,” Ashley Tinius, communications director for the Jefferson County County Clerk's Office, told the Courier Journal in a phone call Tuesday morning.

“There is absolutely no truth to the fact that they don’t work because they work,” Tinius said. “They just run slower than we would like.”

At this point, Tinius cannot estimate how long it will take until all affected voting machines are running at full speed. She noted that “it is happening at the district level,” with some machines having completed the software update and working normally again, while others are still slow and lagging behind.

“We will make sure we monitor this throughout the day, as well as anything else that might happen,” Tinius said.

Beshear published a post to X on Monday afternoon urging the public to vote against Amendment 2, saying that “the future of public education is at stake” if it is ratified.

Similarly, Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman released her opposition Monday morning, saying the amendment “most threatens our rural schools, as well as the communities in which I grew up and taught.”

Senator Rand Paul and his wife Kelley Paul were strong supporters of the amendment, and a post by Kelley republished by Rand

“Why do Democrats, including our governor, want to deny poor children stuck in failing schools the right to free programs like the Boys Latin School in Baltimore or East End Prep in Nashville? These schools educate the poorest children with excellent results,” Kelley explained.

Danny Davidson was among the first voters at Barrett Traditional Middle School in the Crescent Hill neighborhood. He was working nights and heard how long early voting was taking, so he left work and went straight to the polls.

“It was easy,” he said. “I knew the line would be pretty short.”

Before the polls opened, the middle school had just over 20 people.

The Kentucky Republican Party posted on X, formerly Twitter, Tuesday morning the statement, “Every vote is critical to the direction of our nation” and encouraged residents of the commonwealth to find their polling places. The Kentucky Democratic Party also published a post urging people to vote from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m

There are also long queues at some locations. The

While many Kentuckians opted to visit the polls and cast their vote through other means earlier this year, some prefer the in-person voting experience on Election Day. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday urging those who have not yet voted to do so.

“Voting is the foundation of our democracy, and every Kentuckian should use this right to make their voice heard,” Beshear said.

More than 650,000 voters across Kentucky cast ballots during Kentucky's early voting period, with the highest turnout in Anderson County. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams said 41% of registered voters there voted during the three days of early voting. Bullitt County ranked second with 34% of registered voters voting early.

Adams said Oct. 23 that about 130,700 voters across Kentucky had requested an absentee ballot in 2024, which could herald a huge turnout Tuesday.

“For heaven’s sake, vote early,” he said in a social media post.

Some voters reported waiting more than two hours to cast their ballots during early voting, and hundreds lined up outside the polling place at Bowman Field on the first day of no-excuse early voting on Thursday.

Between early voting and postal voting, 792,476 ballots have already been cast.

In Kentucky, polls are open on Election Day from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Jefferson County residents can learn more about polling locations below.

Polling locations are assigned based on address in Jefferson County.

The State Board of Elections maintains an online list of polling locations throughout the Commonwealth. Voters who know their voting district can use the list to determine the name and address of their polling station.

Jefferson County residents can download a sample ballot from the Jefferson County Clerk's Office here.

The Courier Journal will update results throughout the night. To get the latest results delivered to your phone, download the Courier-Journal.com app. Click here to download on Apple devices or click here to download for Android devices.

Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz appeared in Louisville on Oct. 23 to speak at a campaign reception on behalf of the Harris Victory Fund as part of his campaign stop.

Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance appeared in Lexington in August for a fundraiser sponsored by the Trump 47 Committee. Kelly Craft, an ambassador for the event, told the Courier Journal before the event and during the Kentucky State Fair Ham Breakfast that Vance was her friend and she was excited to host him.

Reporter Stephanie Kuzydym contributed to this report.

Live updates from voters, polls in Louisville

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