Kentucky latest to expand mail voting in response to pandemic

image
The Fulcrum StaffThe Fulcrum Staff
Published: 28 Apr, 2020
1 min read

Originally published on The Fulcrum.

All Kentuckians will get the chance to vote by mail in the June 23 primary under a deal worked out between Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, and Secretary of State Michael Adams, a Republican.

The switch is an attempt to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Kentucky is now the 10th state that normally strictly limits mail-in voting, but will make it nearly universal during the pandemic.

Thirty-four states allow everyone to vote absentee without citing a reason, a number that has increased rapidly in recent years. Kentucky's move leaves just six — Connecticut, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas — requiring an excuse to vote by mail without an accommodation during the public health crisis.

Beshear issued his executive order Friday based on recommendations by Adams. It allows voters to request absentee ballots online, through a new secure portal the state will create, and return them starting 15 days ahead of time. It also says drive-through voting stations will be set up to reduce congestion and maintain social distancing on Election Day.

In addition, state election officials are sending a postcard to every eligible voter telling them they have the option of using an absentee ballot.

Beshear and Adams had already agreed to delay the primary from May 19 to June 23.

Adams had opposed mail-in voting last year but said the coronavirus pandemic now made it necessary.

IVP Donate

You Might Also Like

fl-let-us-vote
Poll Shows Overwhelming Support for Opening Florida’s Primaries to 3.4M Independent Voters
A new statewide poll finds near-unanimous agreement among both Democratic and independent voters that Florida’s primaries should be opened to the state’s 3.4 million “No Party Affiliation” (NPA) voters who are currently shut out of taxpayer-funded elections....
10 Oct, 2025
-
3 min read
broken california map
EXCLUSIVE: California Commissioner Says Lawmakers Gutted Their Funding BEFORE Prop 50
The fate of California’s independently drawn congressional districts will be decided on November 4, when voters weigh in on a legislative gerrymander and the suspension of congressional maps from the state's independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC) under Proposition 50....
08 Oct, 2025
-
8 min read
Proposition 50 voter guide
California Prop 50: Partisan Power Play or Necessary Counterpunch?
November 4 marks a special election for what has become the most controversial ballot measure in California in recent memory: Proposition 50, which would circumvent congressional districts drawn by the state’s independent redistricting commission for a legislative-drawn map....
01 Oct, 2025
-
9 min read