Residents, mayor urge restoration of local early‑voting sites after Election Commission cuts satellite hours
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Summary
Multiple residents and Newmarket’s mayor told the commission that reducing satellite early‑voting to a single five‑hour Saturday session creates accessibility problems for retirees, disabled residents and shift workers; the mayor said he will meet the elections administrator and pursue security upgrades to restore longer local hours.
Residents and local officials urged Jefferson County commissioners to press the Election Commission for more accessible early‑voting options after the board voted to close two satellite early‑voting sites except for a single five‑hour Saturday window.
Annette Loy, a longtime local voter, told the commission she was "quite concerned" that the Election Commission had voted in December to close the two satellites and provide only a five‑hour Saturday window while the central office would remain open for 14 days. "This is a disenfranchisement of the citizens of this county," she said, arguing that retirees, people with disabilities and shift workers would be disproportionately affected.
Linda McSmith and other residents made similar points, urging the county to preserve early‑voting accessibility and suggesting a thorough review before the next major election. Danny Willock, who identified himself as mayor of Newmarket, said he first learned of the change when it appeared in local media and that he had spoken with Nathan Bugg, the elections administrator. Willock said he and Bugg would meet to discuss security improvements at city polling sites — including additional cameras, lock changes and padlocks that would allow the Election Commission to control machine access — and hoped that those changes could restore 14 days of early voting within city limits.
Commissioners and other speakers asked clarifying questions about whether the Election Commission had given prior notice and about the security issues cited as the reason for closing satellite sites. Willock said he had not been told the changes would remove early‑voting access, and he urged expedited discussion with the elections administrator; he said he had filed complaints with the state Election Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice but expected to work with local officials to resolve the problem.
No formal commission action to change the election schedule was recorded at the meeting; the mayor and local officials said they planned immediate meetings with the elections administrator to seek remedies before the next election.