Politics & Government
Updated: Kentucky group sues for expanded absentee voting in November, block of ID law
A group of voting rights advocates filed suit against Secretary of State Michael Adams and Gov. Andy Beshear in Franklin Circuit Court Tuesday in an attempt to keep expanded absentee voting through the Nov. 3 election.
The lawsuit — filed by the Fair Elections Center, the Kentucky Equal Justice Center and Kaplan Johnson Abate & Bird LLP on behalf of four Franklin County residents — asks a judge to require election officials keep the rules they implemented for the delayed June primary, saying their successful implementation proved the necessity of expanded voting.
Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams has previously said it’s too early to decide if expanded absentee voting will happen in November because the pandemic is unpredictable. In the primary, many people mailed in their ballots or dropped off their absentee ballots at the significantly reduced number of sites for in-person voting.
“This is just another in a series of lawsuits from out-of-state left-wing interest groups who want to rewrite Kentucky’s election code to favor their preferred candidates,” Adams’ office said in a statement Wednesday. “Our legislature gave emergency powers over elections to the secretary of state and the governor, not to the judiciary.” The decision is his and Beshear’s, Adams said.
Beshear has previously said he expects mail-in voting could continue in November, but Adams has been reluctant to commit to the idea, telling the Herald-Leader last month that “when you win an election, you enact your program, not your opponent’s.”
The lawsuit argues that the plaintiffs, who range in age from 65 to 84 years old and all suffer from pre-existing conditions, would be at risk of severe illness or death from contagious COVID-19 if forced to vote in person.
The lawsuit also asks the court to block enforcement of a new voter ID law set to take effect in Kentucky in November. Complications surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak, including closed government offices and increased risk of going out to get a photo ID, could make fulfilling the new requirement more difficult or even dangerous, the lawsuit argues.
Josh Douglas, a University of Kentucky law professor who specializes in voting rights, said that the ages of the plaintiffs could actually get the case thrown out by the court.
“I’m concerned that a court will find that those aren’t the right plaintiffs because, under Kentucky law, you’re allowed to cast an absentee ballot on account of age,” Douglas said. “I can see a court kicking this procedurally by saying the plaintiffs aren’t affected.”
Some states have said people can request an age-related absentee ballot starting at 65, but in Kentucky a specific age isn’t set, Douglas said.
Expanded voting remains necessary because of the continuing State of Emergency, but the process still needs to be fixed, Douglas said. About 8,000 absentee ballots in Jefferson County and 6,000 in Fayette County were rejected for not being filled out properly.
“I’d prefer it if the governor and secretary of state just did it jointly” instead of the court stepping in, Douglas said.
County clerks also need to be preparing for November, when turnout is expected to be much higher.
“Time is of the essence in figuring this out,” Douglas said.
Time is also of the essence for campaigns — particularly the U.S. Senate campaigns of Sen. Mitch McConnell and former Marine Corps pilot Amy McGrath — who will shape their get-out-the-vote efforts on how the election is conducted.
In Mount Sterling Wednesday, McConnell said he believed Adams and Beshear would come to some sort of agreement in August.
“And from my campaign’s point of view, we’ll be prepared to compete no matter how we end up casting the votes,” McConnell said. “Whatever is decided we’ll adapt to and try to compete.”
McGrath’s campaign said there must be no-excuse absentee voting in November.
“Kentucky has been hailed as a model for how states should conduct elections during a pandemic,” said Terry Sebastian, McGrath’s spokesman. “No one should have to risk their life to vote.”
A federal lawsuit was filed in May that also demands mail-in voting in Kentucky for the November election.
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