As the final voting in the unusual 2020 primary season is winding down, the number of actual votes cast prior to next week, when the final vote tallies will be announced, remain steady among Clinton County voters, according to figures released by the Clinton County Clerk’s Office earlier this week.

As of late Monday afternoon, County Clerk Nathan Collins said that 2,221 votes had been cast collectively, one day prior to the actual walk-in voting at the courthouse that took place this past Tuesday, June 23.

Of those votes cast, 1,406 had been mailed into the clerk’s office while another 815 had been voted on the machine set up in the courthouse.

A total of 1,900 mail-in ballots had been seen out, but Collins noted that some who had requested mail-in paper ballots had changed their minds and made an appointment to vote in person on the machine instead.

Although votes that have been received by mail and voted on at the machine through June 23 were to be counted Tuesday night, a final total will not be announced until 8 a.m. next Tuesday morning, June 30.

Due to the delay in the vote total announcement next Tuesday morning, Local results for the highly unusual 2020 primary election will be published in next week’s Clinton County News.

The county clerk noted that people voting by mail had to have ballots post marked by June 23 and received in his office by early next week, as the count will continue as mail-in votes will be counted as they come in.

Collins has been pleased with the turnout thusfar, saying, “for a primary (with only a handful of races on the ballot for either party) there has been a good turn out so far.”

Going into the primary election, there are some 7,663 registered voters in the county, with Republicans outnumbering Democrats in Clinton County by an almost 5 to 1 margin.

There are 6,428 registered Republicans in Clinton County; 1,087 registered Democrats; 77 registered Independent and 71 listed as “other.”

There was a short line of voters waiting to cast their ballot choices Tuesday morning at the only in-person voting location in Clinton County. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, voting procedures for the primary election were completely different in Kentucky. Any eligible voter in Kentucky was able to cast a vote by absentee mail-in ballot, and a record number of voters chose that method to vote. In-person voting was available prior to Tuesday in the courthouse as well. Election results will not be announced until next Tuesday morning, June 30. Results will be in next week’s Clinton County News.