Election season is right around the corner. Do you know how, when and where you will be voting?

Warren County’s newly minted Election Education Task Force, formed by the county’s fiscal court, is working to broadcast the answers to those questions in the run-up to Kentucky’s Nov. 7 general election.

Co-chaired by First District Magistrate Scott Lasley and Second District Magistrate Tom Lawrence and populated by Judge-Executive Doug Gorman, the 11-member group was established in August to help get the public up to speed with recent major changes to voting in Warren County.

Gone are the days when registered voters had to stick to one polling location tied to their home precinct. With the advent of voting centers in 2020, voters can now vote at any one of the hubs placed around the county.

There is also more than one day to vote – Kentucky added three days of early voting on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday before Election Day back in 2021.

Gorman said that more and more people are caught unaware when it comes time to head to the polls thanks to these shifts.

Task force member Johnalma Barnett said a lot of county residents don’t have a plan of action, which can cause problems when it’s time to cast ballots.

“Bowling Green is a diverse community, so everybody should have a say,” Barnett said. “Your vote is your superpower – use it.”

The task force is hoping to combat confusion and coax higher voter turnout, which has remained lower than the state rate for the past few election cycles.

According to the Kentucky State Board of Elections, this spring’s primary contest saw just over 12,000 of the county’s more than 91,000 voters cast a ballot, a 13.3% turnout rate under the state-wide mark of 14.5%.

Going back to the 2022 general election, only about a third – 38,819 – of registered voters let their voices be heard.

“The bottom line is for every 100 registered voters, when only 20 of them show up, I don’t know how we can make the changes that we sometimes want to make,” Gorman said Thursday, giving an update on the task force’s plans after the morning’s fiscal court meeting.

The group’s goals include the roll-out of a voting plan, explaining when, where and how Warren Countians can vote. As Election Day draws closer, more information will be shared through the county’s website at warrencountyky.gov.

Lawrence said the group has been making informational posters and banners to be placed around public events, like this weekend’s Harvest Festival. Gorman said the education push will include things like social media campaigns and billboards.

“Wherever people are, there’s been changes in the world of how people get their information,” Gorman said. “We want to use everything known to man to get that word out.”

Bowling Green’s trolley service will play a part on Nov. 7. Gorman said the trolley will operate on Election Day to take people to voting centers, and a route is currently being put together.

Voters will also have the option of voting at State Street Baptist Church, the newest addition to the county’s 12 in-person voting centers.

The plan is for the task force to run through the 2024 election cycle, a season that will feature federal, state and local elections.

While the 2023 ballot features a marquee gubernatorial matchup between incumbent Gov. Andy Beshear and Attorney General Daniel Cameron, it lacks the hyperlocal races – mayor, magistrate, city commissioner – that Gorman said consistently drive voter foot traffic.

The judge-executive said the work being done now will hopefully lay the groundwork for higher numbers next year.

“What we really want to focus on is getting that number way up in ‘24,” Gorman said. “I think ‘23 will give us an indication of what’s working and what’s not working.”

Warren County’s turnout in 2020, the last time a president was on the ballot, came in a bit higher than Kentucky’s 60.3% rate. According to the state board of elections, 62.2% of the county’s 89,576 voters cast a ballot.

“We don’t expect a miracle overnight,” but Gorman said he is hoping for even better numbers.

“People wouldn’t know what to expect if we had, for instance, 87% voter turnout,” Gorman said. “It would be fantastic.”

Lawrence said a 10% increase this November would be “phenomenal.”

“I know how important it is for Warren County’s voice to be heard and the only way you can have it heard is if every person votes,” Lawrence said. “If you want to hear the true voice, you have to have 100% voter turnout.”

Gorman stressed that the group is non-partisan and solely for educational purposes. Lawrence said the task force is populated about 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans.

“We are never going to speak about candidates, their platforms, anything like that,” Gorman said.

While the group is currently helmed by a pair of elected officials, Gorman said the hope is for the task force to be completely citizen-run at some point in the future.

The task force won’t have anything to do with the location or number of active voting centers, either, but they might make recommendations to County Clerk Lynette Yates and her election staff.

Gorman stressed that at the end of the day, “people have to make the effort” and flex their right to vote.

“We want to encourage civic pride so that people can be involved,” Gorman said. “For us to have the greatest Warren County we can have, it takes all of us.”

A full list of voting centers and voting times can be found at warren.countyclerk.us/elections. Absentee ballots can be requested at govote.ky.gov or voters can apply for one at the county clerk’s office through Oct. 24.

Also Thursday, the magistrates approved nearly $360,000 in renovations to the second floor of the Warren County Courthouse to be completed by White Oak General Contractors.

The facelift to the upstairs offices is yet another improvement to the historic building, originally built in 1868. More than $160,000 in improvements to the county courtroom were approved earlier this year.

Warren County Building Superintendent James Marcrum said the changes will bring the working quarters of the judge-executive, treasurer and other county officials “to 2023.”

The bid includes new carpeting, paint, trim work and the full gutting and replacement of the upstairs bathroom facilities. The work will also update and hide all necessary wiring, which Marcrum said dates back to the late 1950s.

“We’ll bring it up to speed, make it a little more user-friendly,” Marcrum said. “They did a little remodeling around 1990, but everything you see electrical-wise is ‘58. It’s ready.”

He said the improvements will take about six months.