‘Significant expansion’ of absentee voting planned for Kentucky’s June primary
Kentucky’s June 23 primary election will include “a significant expansion” of absentee voting by mail and much less voting in person because of the novel coronavirus, Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams acknowledged Tuesday.
Adams, a Republican who has staunchly opposed efforts to expand voting by mail in Kentucky, said he and Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, are working on a plan for conducting the election during the COVID-19 pandemic and have “a self-imposed deadline” of this week to reach an agreement.
He said they are “pretty close in agreement.”
“I can’t speak for the governor, but I think both of us would like to have something in place as soon as we can,” Adams said. “I think we both agree that this election will be unlike anything ever seen in Kentucky.”
Sebastian Kitchen, a spokesman for Beshear, said the governor is working with Adams “to ensure that we don’t risk the safety and lives of either our voters or our poll workers.”
State lawmakers earlier this month made sure that Adams and Beshear have a say in how the election will be conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Beshear had vetoed language that required he and Adams to agree on a plan, but the Republican-led legislature overrode his veto.
Beshear and Adams already have agreed to push back the primary election, in which party nominees for November’s general election are chosen, from May 19 to June 23.
The primary election ballot includes races for U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, the Kentucky General Assembly and various judicial positions.
Adams said the delayed primary will probably involve “a significant expansion of absentee voting by mail and less voting in person.”
“I can’t say much because of confidentiality but I am optimistic we can work out something.”
Adams said topics he and the governor are still discussing include how to make the election as secure as possible. He did not elaborate.
Changes must be made, said Adams, because “I don’t think anybody could find 16,000 workers for the polls during this virus.”
He noted that many poll workers are over 65 years old and are among those most vulnerable to complications from the coronavirus.
Meanwhile, the State Board of Elections is mulling over a plan for the June 23 election that would allow almost everyone to vote by absentee ballot. It is to be discussed at this Friday’s board meeting.
Former Democratic state Rep. Ben Chandler of Versailles is chairman of the elections board, which includes Secretary of State Adams.
Chandler said he knows that whatever the state board approves, both the governor and secretary of state would have to sign off on it.
Chandler said the board has two primary goals for the upcoming election: ensuring people have access to the ballot and keeping them safe.
“Eighty percent of our poll workers are in the vulnerable categories for the virus and many voters in Kentucky are old,” said Chandler. “Even though the election is two months away, we have to make decisions now on how to proceed.”
He emphasized that the eight-member board, made up of four Democrats and four Republicans, are “working in a very bipartisan manner.”
The voting option the board is considering would involve sending out about 3.4 million postcards to registered voters in Kentucky.
Once they receive the postcard, each voter would have to request an absentee ballot either online or through a telephone number. County clerks would mail them out.
Voters could mail in their absentee ballots during a designated period. A decision remaining to be made is whether the ballots would have prepaid postage.
Also under consideration by the board are designated drop-off locations for the ballots if someone didn’t want to mail it in and abiding by the American Disabilities Act to make sure the disabled could vote.
A big item to work out is financing the process, said Chandler.
Chandler said a bipartisan working group has been dealing with the plan for several weeks.
Adams said he does “not support all” that the elections board is considering.
He said he agreed that voters should be notified about any new process but he is concerned that drop boxes would pose a threat to election security.
Adams also said even with federal funding for the elections, the state may have to put up about $1.2 million for this year’s elections.
“That would give us about $7 million for the primary and general,” he said.
This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 10:13 AM.
