Approximately 280 Kentucky National Guardsmen will assist local officials at polling locations across 38 counties to provide logistical and administrative support for the general election Nov. 3.
The Guardsmen - who will not wear any military attire - will perform non-election officer duties to include setting up and cleaning polling locations and assisting with traffic, parking and crowd control. This support will be in a non-law-enforcement capacity under the direction of election officers.
The National Guard will not perform any duties reserved for trained election officials, to include handling ballots or screening voters to determine who can vote.
Many of the poll workers and volunteers across Kentucky are typically in a high risk category for contracting COVID-19. The National Guard assistance helps protect these “at risk” members.
Kentucky's State Board of Elections reached out to counties across the Commonwealth earlier this month to determine what support election sites might need to be effective, then vetted those requests and asked for National Guard to provide appropriate support.
The Kentucky National Guard assisted in the state's primary election in June, which mirrors the support being provided this November.
(provided by the Kentucky National Guard)
