People vote early at the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage in Louisville.(Michelle Tyrene Johnson / LPM)Last updated at 3:57 p.m.In the hours after the lunch rush, the lines at the polls held steady in East Louisville.As of 3:45 p.m., more than 225,000 Louisvillians had voted either ear ly or on Election Day, according to the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office. That’s about 38% of registered voters.Many voters were seen casting their ballots with their children by their side.Charles Shercliff Jr. and his wife brought their young son and daughter with them to their polling place at Greathouse / Shryock Elementary.The family posed for a selfie, sporting their “I Voted” stickers and wristbands.“I want them to know that it's really important that they have a voice,” Shercliff said of his kids. A poll worker helps a person cast their vote from their car at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center Nov. 3, 2026.(Justin Hicks / KPR)Louisville voters between the ages 18-24 have the lowest turnout so far this midterm election with more than 10,000 voters, Jefferson County Clerk data showed. Although his children aren’t old enough to vote yet, Shercliff said he wants them to learn early how voting works.“One day they'll have to think about these things and make decisions on how to properly direct the, you know, the country and do their civic duty,” he said.Shercliff doesn’t typically vote in the midterms, but he said the war in Iran and the current power in the office of the president encouraged him to cast a ballot.“I would really like to see the executive [branch] be constrained. That's regardless of which party is in power,” he said.He said finding a candidate who aligns with his political views can be a difficult task as a registered Libertarian. Nearly 16,000 of Kentucky’s 3.3 million registered voters are Libertarians, according to recent data from the State Board of Elections.“I used Google to find a sample ballot, and then, in the races that I thought that I would cast a vote for, I tried to find candidates that were closer to my values if I could,” Shercliff said. “There were a lot of races I did not cast a vote in.”Voting to start the dayIt was a quiet Election Day morning at the Newburg Middle School polling location. As the clock ticked towards 11 a.m. there were no lines to vote and no one holding any campaign signs to drum up support for candidates.There also was no sign of the federal election monitors that President Donald Trump’s administration said it was sending to Louisville to keep tabs on the day’s happenings. The monitors wouldn’t be easy to spot, though, because they wear regular clothes, not uniforms, when they go to watch the polls.As of 11:30 a.m., more than 90,600 voters had cast a ballot across Jefferson County, according to data provided by the Jefferson County Clerk. There are more than 590,000 registered voters in the county.Vote Here sign at Harrods Creek Baptist Church in Louisville on Election Day 2026.(Amina Elahi / LPM )At Newburg Middle, Marcia Combs turned out to vote Tuesday “to get rid of who’s in there and get some new blood in,” she said.Combs is voting Democrat, as she said she always has since graduating high school in the early 1970s.“I’m feeling pretty good,” she said. “I believe…they’ve got a fight on their hands this time. Because there’s a lot of people sick and tired of what’s been happening. I mean, families are torn apart.”Ricky Ramsey, who’s in his 60s, said he came out to vote, like he does in every election, because it’s his civic duty.He’s watching several races across the nation with interest. Here in Kentucky, he said he likes Charles Booker, the Democrat running against Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Barr for longtime U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell’s seat.Ramsey said he’s a socialist and he used to vote Republican.“Their policies just changed so much in the last 12 years that — they don’t care about the people. All they care about is the rich people,” he said. “I think they should share the wealth. There’s no reason anybody in this world should be a billionaire.”Greed has been around since the beginning of time, Ramsey said, but he said we don’t need people in office who are just out to enrich themselves and then retire. That’s what he’s voting against this Election Day.“When you’ve got a guy that goes around the country, a president, and the only thing you hear out of that man is him boasting about hisself. ‘I’ve done this, I’ve done that.’ What have you done for the people? Not a damn thing,” Ramsey said.A man sits to vote in Louisville Nov. 3, 2026.(Justin Hicks / KPR)A man named Kenny came to vote with his neighbor and her son, who's a younger voter, on Tuesday morning."Hey, we got him out. It's good, that's what we need. That's what we need, younger voters," Kenny said. "And I'm the older voter. ... Normally I didn't vote when things were kind of, you know, normal. But that's way past it now."They all said they showed up to vote because of the economy and how high the cost of living has gotten because of inflation."I can't even afford to get my car fixed," Kenny said. "And I can't afford to get over a half a tank of gas. I haven't had a half a tank of gas in months."Election Day basicsIt’s Election Day, and voters in Kentucky and Indiana can cast their ballots until 6 p.m. Tuesday.In Louisville, voters will choose the next mayor, many Metro Council seats, school board candidates, district judges and sheriff, among other offices. Across the river in Southern Indiana, voters will choose the next Clark County Sheriff, pick a new representative for District 72, which was long held by Ed Clere.TARC, as well as some other local groups and chapters, is offering free rides to the polls on Election Day.Here’s what you need to know as you head out to the polls.LouisvilleVoters can enter their address and get a personalized vote guide to learn more about the candidates who will appear on your ballot with the LPM Voter Guide.This is the first general election since nonpartisan voting started in Louisville. That will affect straight ticket voting and change how mayoral and other local candidates show up on your ballot.Polls are open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Kentucky state law requires that if you’re in line by 6 p.m. you must be allowed to vote.Find your voting place here. All Jefferson County voters can also vote at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center, regardless of their polling place.Southern IndianaOur colleagues at WFYI put together a statewide voter guide. LPM Southern Indiana Reporter Aprile Rickert contributed to that guide and also has this local reporting on the races that matter most to Hoosiers.Polls are also open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Indiana. Find your polling place here. ...read more read less