FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky’s secretary of state has offered a preliminary election plan that calls for expanded early voting but excludes no-excuse absentee voting by mail for all voters amid the coronavirus.
His proposal would allow Kentuckians to cast mail-in ballots if they decide their age or health condition makes it too risky to vote in-person, Secretary of State Michael Adams said Tuesday. That option also would apply to people living with them or caring for them, he said.
Adams’ proposals on how to conduct the November election amid the global pandemic were submitted to Gov. Andy Beshear this week. The Democratic governor and Republican secretary of state are expected to begin negotiations soon.
Beshear has said he supports no-excuse absentee voting for November.
The state’s June primary included widespread absentee voting by mail. Kentucky’s handling of the primary won praise, but Adams said Tuesday that such no-excuse absentee voting would crash the election system in November when participation will be dramatically higher.
"75% of voters voted absentee in the primary and that was just fine because our system could handle 75% of 29%, but our system cannot handle 75% of 72% that would overwhelm our system we’d have 2 million absentee ballots in a state that could barely handle 800,000,” Adams told WHAS11 News.
Adams said his preliminary plan also calls for at least two weeks of in-person early voting, which he sees as another way to limit crowds voting on Election Day.
He is also ready to enforce the photo voter ID law but wants allowances made for those impacted by the pandemic.
Adams said he’s hopeful that an agreement can be reached in a week or so.
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