Petition forces wet/dry election

For the first time in more than 50 years Estill Countians will have the opportunity to vote for or against allowing alcohol sales in the county.
Estill County Clerk Sherry Fox confirmed this week her office has finished counting and verifying signatures on a petition requesting a wet/dry vote.
654 signatures were needed to accomplish a special vote for the wet/dry status in the county. The number of required signatures is calculated as 25 percent of the number of registered voters who voted in the most recent general election.
Jacob Estes, the local man who began circulating the petition in July, submitted over 1,000 signatures to the Fox two weeks ago.
She confirmed 752 signatures were verified as register Estill County voters forcing the county to set a date and hold a special election for the issue.
Estes said he is excited to see the issue go to a vote.
“At least now everyone will have a voice on the issue,” he said.
Estill County Judge-Executive Wallace Taylor said he’s still going through a learning process about the procedures required to hold the election.
“This something I’ve never experienced,” he said.
Taylor said he is required to schedule the election 90 days from the date the signatures turned over to him.
However, Kentucky Revised Statute states a special cannot take place 30 days before or 30 days after a general election.
With the next election being Nov. 6, Taylor said he is running into some issues. The earliest the election could take place would be in October and Taylor said that doesn’t allow him enough time to plan and prepare for the vote.
He suspects the vote will take place sometime in mid-December for a number of reasons.
An election in mid-December would allow more time for preparation and could push the vote until after schools let out for Winter break.
“Schools shut down for the general election and we use many of them as polling sites,” he said.
Estill County Schools close for Winter break Dec. 18.
Besides issues with scheduling around the general electoin, Taylor said there is “a lot to be looking at,” to ensure he does everything by the books for the election.
“I want to make sure I’m doing everything legally,” he said.
Taylor said he is still doing research about how soon polling machines would be available after the November election, whether pre-vote or absentee votes are allowed in a special election and which preexisting election officers will still be eligible to work the polls.
In general elections it is required that four polling officers be present at each precinct. Law states there must be two Republican and two Democratic officers present.
In the special election circumstances, there would need to be two officers who are for alcohol sales and two who are against. The officers would have to issue written statements about their decision on the issue.
Taylor suspects the county will need to find and train replacements for more than half of the 60 election officers. The current officers will be asked first and then remaining officers will be sought.
Perhaps the most pressing issue with the special election is where the money will come from to fund it.
The special election is expected cost approximately $20,000 which was not included in the budget passed by the fiscal court in June.
“This money is not in the budget and we are not reimbursed for it,” Taylor said. “The big question is where am I coming up with this extra money?”
In general, Taylor described the process of preparing for the election as a “big deal” and said he has his work cut out for him in the coming months.