Local voter turnout was much better than election officials anticipated for the Tuesday, November 5 general election.
Wayne County Clerk Heather Piercy said that 38 percent of registered
voters in the county went to the polls in an election where the
majority of races on the ballot were for statewide offices.
Election officials had predicted about a 30 percent turnout, while
locally that number was expected to be around 20 to 25 percent.
Piercy said that by Tuesday afternoon the numbers going to local
polls were up significantly, despite the fact there was only one
local race on the ballot.
City voters cast ballots in a special election to determine who
would complete the unexpired term of former Monticello City
Councilman Scott Flynn. Flynn resigned earlier in 2019, and Scott
Gehring was appointed to the seat at that time.
Gehring was on the ballot and won the race to complete Flynn's term,
which is through the end of 2020. He received 935 votes to defeat
Lana Hoskins, who received 270 votes.
The republican party vote was a strong one in Wayne County for the
general election, with 2,313 local voters opting to go with the
straight republican party ballot.
Six hundred and forty five local voters cast straight democratic
ballots, and 21 opted to vote straight libertarian party.
At the top of the ballot was the race for Kentucky governor.
Republican incumbent Matt Bevin did very well in Wayne County,
outdistancing democratic opponent Andy Beshear by a significant margin.
Bevin received 62 percent of the local vote—a total of 3,472 votes—
while Beshear received about 35 percent. Beshear's vote total in
Wayne County was 1,983.
But statewide it was a race that went to the wire and when all the
ballots were cast, Beshear was the winner by about 5,000 votes.
Because of the close numbers, Bevin's campaign has formally requested
a recanvass of votes.
Bevin made the formal request by letter to Kentucky Secretary of
State Alison Lundergan Grimes on November 6.
"The people of Kentucky deserve a fair and honest election," said
Bevin Campaign Manager Davis Paine. "With reports of irregularities,
we are exercising the right to ensure that every lawful vote was
counted."
The recanvass will be conducted at county clerk's offices across
Kentucky at 9 a.m. on Thursday, November 14. Immediately upon
completion of the recanvass, the county boards of elections will file
their recanvass reports with the Secretary of State.
Wayne County voters picked winners in every other race on the
ballot. They favored republican Michael G. Adams over Heather French
Henry in the race for Secretary of State. Adams received 3,858 votes
in Wayne County, while Henry received 1,597.
Republican Daniel Cameron received 4,028 votes in Wayne County in
the Attorney General's race. He defeated democratic candidate Greg
Stumbo, who received 1,453 votes.
Incumbent republican Auditor of Public Accounts Mike Harmon won a
second term in office, by defeating democratic challenger Sheri
Donahue. He received 4,032 votes in Wayne County, compared to 1,214
for Donahue.
Republican State Treasurer Allison Bell also earned another term in
office by defeating democratic challenger Michael Bowman. She
received 4,122 votes in Wayne County. Bowman received 1,284 local votes.
Republican Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles won a second
term in office by defeating democratic candidate Robert Haley Conway.
Quarles received 4,241 votes compared to Conway's 1,117 votes in
Wayne County.
Jacqueline M. Caldwell received 1,927 votes in Wayne County in the
race for Judge of the Court of Appeals 3rd Appellate District, 1st
Division. Michael O. Caperton received 1,252 votes in the county.
Caldwell received 53 percent of the vote in the district to win the
office.
Election day was uneventful in Wayne County, and there were no
problems, according to Piercy.
"I am really excited that had such a high voter turnout," Piercy added.
For a precinct by precinct break down of the local vote, see the recapitulation sheet that is published in this week's edition.
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