Judge Allows 30-Minute Extension At Two Kentucky Polling Locations After Gas Leak, Police Chase

A judge allowed two polling locations in Louisville, Kentucky, to stay open longer on Tuesday after reported disruptions from a gas leak and a police pursuit.

“Circuit Court Judge Brian Edwards granted the county’s request to leave the polling locations at Blue Lick Elementary School and Highland Baptist Church open for an extra 30 minutes,” according to WDRB.

The two polling locations stayed open until 6:30 p.m. instead of 6:00 p.m. due to the disruptions, Jefferson County Clerk’s Office spokesman Erran Huber said around 4:00 p.m. on election day.

“A gas leak forced a 30-minute closure at Highland Baptist, and a police pursuit forced a similar one at Blue Lick Elementary. Anyone in line by 6:30 p.m. will be allowed to vote,” according to the report.

A judge granted a 30-minute extension for two polling locations in Louisville due to a gas leak and police pursuit https://t.co/Kf9ZBEeSDT

— WDRB News (@WDRBNews) November 7, 2023

The banner race on Tuesday is Kentucky’s gubernatorial election, where incumbent Democrat Gov. Andy Beshear faces GOP challenger Attorney General Daniel Cameron.

Cameron, who is backed strongly by former President Donald Trump, trailed Beshear significantly all year. Even as recently as earlier in October, he was down by well into double digits, but polling released late last week suggests the race has tightened considerably in the past few weeks, Breitbart News’s D.C. Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle reported.

An Emerson College survey released in early October showed Beshear leading Cameron by 16 percent, but another survey from the same pollster conducted at the end of October and released on Friday, November 3, showed Cameron holding a slight edge over Beshear when leaners are included, and the two of them tied in the straight-up ballot test — a swing of 16 or 17 percent Cameron’s way in just a few weeks.

As of 7:00 p.m., Beshear was leading Cameron nearly 60 percent to 40 percent with 14 percent of votes counted, a New York Times projection shows.