As election results rolled in Tuesday night, one result that surprised some was the level of voter turnout in Boyle County.

Boyle County Clerk Trille Bottom called the local voter turnout percentages “huge.”

Bottom said the Bluegrass Road precinct (A105) had 51% of registered voters cast votes. Several precincts were at 50% and the remainders were close to 40% turnout, she said.

“I am ecstatic that we voted as well as we did.”

Bottom said she was surprised at the number of voters in this election.

“I had previously guesstimated 30% and that was optimistic,” she said. “We had a tremendous turnout — more than the local elections in 2018. I am tickled to death.”

Boyle’s overall voter turnout rate was 46%, unofficially, Bottom said, with 10,484 ballots cast. Boyle’s turnout for the last election with a governor’s race in 2015 was 34.75%, with 7,293 ballots cast, according to the Kentucky State Board of Elections.

By 8:15 Tuesday morning, people were lined up at a couple of precincts inside First Christian Church. Workers at the National Guard Armory said they hadn’t had lines of voters, but there was a constant stream of voters coming in.

There were, however, a few minor hiccups with the voting machines, Bottom said. In five precincts some of the e-scan machines weren’t scanning the paper ballots. A technician was on hand and took care of the problems. One machine in Mitchellsburg had to be replaced, she said.

“Everyone got to vote,” though, Bottom said. “Everyone continued to cast their votes when the machines didn’t work. Ballots were put in the side of the e-scan machines and the board of elections went out to where the problem machines were located and scanned all of the previously not scanned ballots.”

 

Boyle County results

• Governor — Matt Bevin (R, incumbent) 5,103; Andy Beshear (D), 5,099; John Hicks (L), 198
• Secretary of State — Michael Adams (R), 5,569; Heather French Henry (D), 4,789
• Attorney General — Daniel Cameron (R), 6,187; Gregory Stumbo (D), 4,116
• State Treasurer — Allison Ball (R, incumbent), 6,597; Michael Bowman (D), 3,640
• Auditor of Public Accounts — Mike Harmon (R, incumbent), 6,877; Sheri Donahue (D), 3,253; Kyle Hugenberg (L), 209
• Commissioner of Agriculture — Ryan F. Quarles (R, incumbent), 6,498; Robert Haley Conway (D), 3,477; Josh Gilpin (L), 280