Abstract

Kentucky is best known for three things: horses, bourbon, and basketball. Add positive improvements for the right to vote to the list.

The Bluegrass state has made national news in recent years for its election rules. In 2020, many people in the media and advocacy world pointed to Kentucky as a model for administering an election during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under a bipartisan agreement between the Democratic Governor and Republican Secretary of State, Kentucky initially postponed the 2020 primary to provide for additional planning time. Then it implemented smart rules to ease access to vote-by-mail and made in-person voting safer and more convenient, while still ensuring integrity in the process. The Secretary of State also led a bipartisan group of legislators on a compromise voter ID law, which is among the mildest of the "stricter" photo ID laws in the country. In 2021, when many conservative-controlled states were curtailing the right to vote, Kentucky enacted a bipartisan election reform measure that increased early voting, permitted voters to request an absentee ballot online, and made permanent the ability of counties to use vote centers for in-person voting, among other improvements. The sweet spot was to find measures that satisfied the dual goals of enhanced access for voters and improved election security.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2023

Notes/Citation Information

Joshua A. Douglas, There Must Be Something in the Water – or the Bourbon – In Kentucky: Voting Rights in the Bluegrass State, 111 Ky. L.J. 581 (2023)

Included in

Election Law Commons

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