Ariana Grande lent her support to voters in Kentucky on Tuesday. The 26-year-old pop star sent food and coffee trucks to spots in the line outside of the Kentucky Expo Center in Louisville, Kentucky, where voters were participating in the Democratic primary election.
Retweeting the Black Voters Matter account, which posted about Election Day in Kentucky, Grande wrote, “Sent some food and coffee trucks for everyone waiting in line! Please pull up, enjoy and use your voice today we need u @kyexpocenter.”
The Black Voters Matter account also shared a video of volunteers thanking Grande for lending a helping hand and showing support. One food truck cook also filmed a thank you video, telling Grande, “Thank you for supporting Black businesses and thank you for acknowledging us here in Kentucky and giving us the opportunity to support our community.”
Concerns for the Kentucky election were widely publicized prior to Election Day. The Kentucky Expo Center was one of the main polling places in the state on Tuesday after thousands of locations were closed down, citing coronavirus concerns and lack of volunteers. More than 3,000 polling locations were reduced to 200 in Kentucky, with many critics calling it a case of clear voter suppression.
On Tuesday, the 6 p.m. poll closing time was extended by 30 minutes after a crowd formed outside. This allowed 100 people waiting the opportunity to vote. However, though Democratic candidates Amy McGrath and Charles Booker both asked the court to extend voting hours to let more voters in, the polls still closed at 6:30 p.m.
According to CNN, Booker claimed it wasn’t the voting process at the Expo Center that kept voters from casting their ballots, but rather the traffic leading up to the location that kept many from getting to the polls in time. Videos of people banging on the glass windows asking to be let into the Expo Center surfaced online. The results of the race have not been determined at this time.
The Democratic nominee will go up against Republican Senator and Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, this fall.
