Hours-long lines reported throughout Kenton County for voters; here's why

ERLANGER, Ky. — Multiple locations in Kenton County saw hours-long lines to vote on election day.

Those voting at Caywood Elementary, the St. Barbara Catholic Church and the Scheben Gym all reported lines more than two hours long.

One voter at the St. Barbara church tweeted at us saying "Came here at 12:30 and left thinking it was just lunch crowd. Came back at 3:45. Close to an hour. Probably another 2 hr wait". That person was still in line at 6 p.m.

Scott Kimmich with the Kenton County Board of Elections said the reasons for the long lines included ADA compliance issues, the ballot being longer with more races and new voting equipment.

Kimmich said Edgewood, Erlanger and Elsmere were the places with the longest lines because they had city council races and statewide races.

"Part of our consolidation (of polling places) at the last minute had to do with ADA compliance issues. Polling places we've used for 15-20 years were determined by the Department of Justice to not be viable sites," Kimmich said.

Kimmich said they did hear some complaints of voters taking too long.

"How can you tell a person it’s too long? They need to be educated before they vote. We’re saying give them the time they need. We could technically cut them off at 3 minutes, and force them out. We’re not doing that. We’re telling people take your time, do your work, study your issues, and cast your ballot,” Kimmich said.

He said they were down to two polling places during the height of COVID, but have since rebounded to 25.

“I think 25 is a reasonable number if we can get those 25 into locations and be able to setup our equipment and conduct elections. Twenty-five polling locations where 35,000 are going to vote. That’s about 1,000 per polling place. A little over. We don’t think that’s unrealistic," Kimmich said.

As for that new equipment, Kimmich said it's the first time they have used it

“It’s going to take time for the new equipment and the process to kick in. We’re getting a lot of phone calls. A lot of people who are upset. We’re asking them to be patient. We’re going to sit down after this is over, triage the situation and decide where we need to strategically move locations. Work with the Department of Justice and have those areas certified That we can go forward,” Kimmich said.

As long as you were in line by 6 p.m. when polls close in Kentucky, you will be allowed to vote.

"We have to do a better job, I’m not saying we’re guilt free here, we have to do a better job of explaining the express vote process," Kimmich said.

Get the latest Kentucky election results here.