It’s a week before Election Day in Hardin County, Kentucky. Over the past four days, County Clerk Brian Smith has been inundated with excused early voters. They are found among the leather-bound books and maps detailing the county’s parcel surveys.

“Our numbers here in Hardin County are exploding,” Smith said. “I think we finished yesterday with almost 1,000 (voters). If you look at last year’s (general) elections, we had less than 200 over the entire six days (of excused early voting).

The entire time Smith is speaking, he’s printing ballots, scanning voter IDs, asking for signatures — over and over again. It’s obvious that it’s just a reflex for him at this point.

“I think every secretary is in that standard election brain mode,” he said with a laugh. “You, that’s all you think about. You put him to bed at night, you think…this is what we’re planning. We call it our Super Bowl. And I love it. It’s the best part of the job.

Smith said if his numbers and experience are any indication, voter turnout in Kentucky will be massive on Election Day.

“We expect this to take us down, but we’re already preparing ahead of the May primaries for this general election,” Smith said. “People will find queues on election day. Hands down. No matter what county you vote in, you’ll find lines.

Kentucky employees have been preparing for this participation for a long time.

Tabatha Clemons has served as Grant County Clerk for 10 years and is president of the Kentucky County Clerks Association. She said she and other staffers have received more phone calls about voting than she’s ever seen — and it’s not just because of the presidential election.

“People are very passionate about what’s on the ballot in this election,” she said. “Whether it’s school choice or medical cannabis or, you know, presidential candidates, or local races and city councils and those kinds of things.”

Clemons said she is working with clerks to share ideas on how to ensure this election runs smoothly. She encourages clerks to increase their capacity at early voting sites. No-excuse early voting is still a relatively new capability in Kentucky and she said it has proven very popular with voters.

“They love early voting,” Clemons said. “Whether it’s Saturday morning before taking a child to a sporting event, or when they leave work on Thursday afternoon…the ability to vote on their own schedule has been a game changer.” »

A Kentuckian who likes to vote early? Secretary of State Michael Adams. On Thursday — the first day of no-excuse early voting — he cast his ballot alongside nearly a quarter of a million other voters.

Adams said his office is closely monitoring turnout and anticipates this election will break national voter turnout records.

“In 2020, we experienced the highest turnout in a presidential election since 1908,” he said. “I expect turnout to be even higher this year than four years ago.”

Much like the Hardin County clerk, Adams says he expects lines to be inevitable in this election — although he hopes they will move the lines. That’s why he encourages people to vote early, if possible.

“One reason is that it will be a better experience for you. The lines will be shorter now than they will be on Tuesday,” he said. “The second reason is if we have long lines on Tuesday, it will be a tough day for our poll workers, and we want them back for the next election.”

Anyone in Kentucky can vote early Friday and Saturday. Hours vary at each polling location, but most sites open around 8 a.m. and close in the early afternoon between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Find more information about the candidates and how to vote with Louisville Public Media’s interactive voter guide.

Reporting on state government and politics is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.