Secretary of State to push for more voting locations
Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams said Thursday at the Chamber of Commerce’s monthly Rooster Booster breakfast that he’ll be pushing for more voting locations at the upcoming state legislative session.
Adams, a Republican, made this statement after touting what he said was a smooth and successful election process last month. He said one of the few areas that he’d like to see improvement in is a lack of voting locations in certain counties — he specifically named Bullitt and Oldham counties — which he said led to long lines and up to two-hour waiting periods.
“These are big, suburban counties that only had five or six places to vote, which is not acceptable,” he said. “I believe in local control, but I do think there have been counties in other parts of the state that have gone overboard in reducing the number of locations to vote.”
Adams did not name Daviess County as a culprit, though some community leaders did criticize county officials for not having the Sportscenter as one of its 12 voting locations.
Adams said he’ll be working with state legislators on giving his office more power to veto election plans from counties with insufficient locations. He also said he’d like to see the state implement a formula to determine how many voting locations are required for a given population.
Voting locations aside, Adams touted Kentucky’s election process as one of the best in the country. He said he’s implemented reforms to improve both access and security since taking office in January 2020 — what he called the “most difficult period in our country to be in this position.”
The secretary of state said he’s most proud of implementing early voting. Letting people cast their ballot on the Thursday through Saturday before Election Day was a “game changer” for the working class, he said.
“Polls ought to be accessible to our people. This is a government service. Why would we only give you one day to take advantage? You’re paying for the service,” he said.
Adams also said he’s proud of Kentucky requiring a photo ID of voters, which he said improves election security and instills public trust in the system.
Paper ballots and switching from a precinct system to having voting centers were also on Adams’ list of improvements he said he’s proud of.