If I"ve done this correctly, polls close at 6pm EST in only Kentucky and Indiana(and this takes into account the parts that are in the next time zone and close an hour later).
No other state closes before 7PM EST(or corrected for the time zones).
Why is this? Is this just these last two holding on to something that existed some years ago in other states?
Here’s a map from the 2004 election showing when states close their polls.
For Kentucky I found the statute here. (warning PDF) Polls must open at 6 am and close at 6pm, although anyone in line at 6 will still be allowed to vote. It looks like the Kentucky Constitution actually requires employers to give their employees four hours leave during an election day to go vote – so maybe the early closing time is not as big an issue.
Kentucky’s polls open at 6 a.m. local time, so they’re open for 12 hours. Some states are on a 7-7 or 7-8 schedule, so it’s not like there’s a substantial difference in poll accessibility.
And just for the sake of completeness, Indiana’s polls are open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. as well.
http://www.in.gov/sos/elections/pdfs/2006CalendarBrochure.pdf
In New York State the voting sites are open from 6am - 9pm. One set of poll workers (2 Republican and 2 Democratic, unless they’ve changed things recently) has to be there early to open up and late to get the numbers out and voting machines sealed. That makes for an incredibly long day.
Perhaps Kentucky and Indiana wanted to limit the hours because of the effect on the poll workers or because recruiting them became a real problem. I know that it’s a problem here in New York.
Something else to think about: Kentucky has ~2.7 million registered voters scattered over 120 counties. While voters in the big urban areas (Louisville, Lexington, Ashland) may have trouble getting to vote before 6 p.m., most voters are in pretty small precincts and should have no problem getting to the polls.
Another thing to consider is that poll opening and closing times can be highly political. The legislatures of states with long poll hours possibly decided to keep polls open to allow the broadest number of people to cast their ballot, while those with short hours possibly chose that option to limit voting to those most strongly motivated to vote during the shorter hours. I would say that the conventional wisdom is that the longer the polls are open, the more chance of participation by the economically disadvantaged and minorities.
We’ve got to close up shop early … we want to be able to finish rolling up the sidewalks before it gets really dark.
I’ve got a question about something related.
For those of you in Kentucky since the polls close at 6:00 when do you start getting results from the election? Are there local broadcasts which give the results of the local races or do you have to wait until the national broadcasts come on at 10:00 PM EST?
Or do they release the results of the local races as soon as possible after 6:00 and then hold off on the Senate results until 10:00?
I realise Kentucky isn’t having a Senate election but let’s just pretend they are.
I’m just wondering why the national broadcasts start at 10:00 EST. It seems kind of late.
I’ll let you know tomorrow night. My guess is that we’ll get all the results (local, state and national) as soon as they start tabulating our results, especially since Lexington doesn’t have a national race of any importance (Chandler’s running unopposed for the House.)
For what it’s worth, the only local station with election coverage scheduled before 10:00 is our KET affiliate, and that may be PBS coverage rather than something KET-produced.
I’ve watched national coverage of elections every two years since 1988. Indiana has been a reliable Republican state in Presidential races and is usually called the second the polls close.
Political broadcasts get much lower ratings and therefore lower ad rates than regular programming. The networks compromise by devoting as little prime time as possible to them.
Special Exception This Year. In Delaware County, Indiana, many precincts had a major software screwup, and voting could not begin on time. Each precinct had 25 paper ballots, but those didn’t last long. By a special ruling, Delaware county polls will stay open until (I think) 8:20 pm.
If all the registered voters in a precinct have voted, a polling place may close early and count their votes. It doesn’t happen often, but there’s an east coast town (called something like Dix Notch) that traditionally has everyone vote as soon as the polls open. They are the first precinct in the nation to report their vote count.
Actually, Delaware County polls will be open until 8:40 pm, not 8:20.
That would be Dixville Notch, New Hampshire: Dixville Notch, New Hampshire - Wikipedia
And a very Republican place it is, too. Check out the general election totals at the bottom of the article.
I live in Indiana, and on Election day I arrived to the polling station 5 minutes before 6pm. I was told the computers were already OFF and I could not vote.
I checked on line early that day and knew the time was 6 pm NOT 5:55.
Who would i complain to about this?
The workers looked nervous when I left.
What should I do?
Thanks
Try telling the campaign of the person that you wanted to vote for - I imagine that they would have both the motivation and the capacility to do something about it.
When I worked in western Kentucky (Central time zone) we started broadcasting results as soon as the polls closed. By then, of course, the polls in the eastern half of the state had already been closed for an hour and results were pouring in from there.
What I can’t remember is whether the media in eastern Kentucky started reporting results before the polls closed in the west, or if they only reported local, not statewide, races.
Except for last time.
It keeps the zombies from voting.