Jefferson County voters will be able to cast ballots from their vehicles at a new countywide voting center on Election Day, Nov. 3, County Clerk David Yates announced Oct. 7. It will be the first time the county has offered drive-through voting. The center, at the fairgrounds, will be open only on Election Day. Any voter in Jefferson County may use it, and voters can also park and go inside. Their regular polling places will remain open as well, making the center an additional option rather than a replacement. Yates said the setup is meant to help people who face barriers at their assigned polling locations, including voters with disabilities and people who have difficulty entering a polling place. He said he saw voters encounter access problems during the primary and hopes the new option will make voting more convenient and encourage turnout. State law requires voting to take place indoors, so the drive-through arrangement will be inside. The county had not yet released details about how vehicles will move through the voting area; officials said more information was expected later in the week. The fairgrounds’ Expo Center served as Jefferson County’s central and only in-person voting location in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, the central site will supplement the county’s usual polling places while giving voters another way to cast a ballot.