When Ken Waller walks up to a car for curbside voting Monday evening before Election Day, the ballots collected are among the 1,500 hundred they'll process on that day. That figure is nearly double what Waller, the county's election administrator originally anticipated.
"Last week -- starting with our absentee satellite locations -- we averaged about 1,500 Wednesday; we did like 2,500 Thursday; 3,500 voted Friday," Waller said.
So for the first time ever, Waller said Jefferson County opened satellite locations in the run-up to Nov. 3. Clerks also extended hours for in-person absentee voting.
RELATED: Jefferson County extends hours, launches satellite polling locations for expected record turnout
Kaitlyn Pinkley, 18, is in the car for curbside help, though she never thought this is the way she would cast her first-ever vote.
"I was planning on doing it in-person, but this is the way I have to do it today," Pinkley said.
She recently tested positive for the coronavirus and did not want to risk transmitting the virus to others by voting in-person before Election Day or in-person on Nov. 3.
"I called the number on the back here [of a voter information card], and they said 'come on down,'" Richard Pennington said of his same concerns.
Pennington said the line for curbside voting got as long as a 30-minute wait, but he's happy to have the option ahead of Election Day.
"It was good. This is the way I would like to vote every year," he said with a laugh.
Waller said Jefferson County has received more than 30,000 mail-in and absentee ballots ahead of Election Day, which they hope will keep things moving Tuesday.
"I hope that the process that we put into place will keep the numbers down, but you are still talking record turnout so it would not shock me if we had 80- to 90,000 people vote tomorrow," Waller said.
Waller said he plans to re-open the satellite offices for the 2022 mid-term election. And another change, he's going to ask the legislature to approve no-excuse absentee voting for future contests.
