• Home
  • Opinion
  • Quizzes
  • Redistricting
  • Sections
  • About Us
  • Voting
  • Events
  • Civic Ed
  • Campaign Finance
  • Directory
  • Election Dissection
  • Fact Check
  • Glossary
  • Independent Voter News
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Subscriptions
  • Log in
Leveraging Our Differences
  • news & opinion
    • Big Picture
      • Civic Ed
      • Ethics
      • Leadership
      • Leveraging big ideas
      • Media
    • Business & Democracy
      • Corporate Responsibility
      • Impact Investment
      • Innovation & Incubation
      • Small Businesses
      • Stakeholder Capitalism
    • Elections
      • Campaign Finance
      • Independent Voter News
      • Redistricting
      • Voting
    • Government
      • Balance of Power
      • Budgeting
      • Congress
      • Judicial
      • Local
      • State
      • White House
    • Justice
      • Accountability
      • Anti-corruption
      • Budget equity
    • Columns
      • Beyond Right and Left
      • Civic Soul
      • Congress at a Crossroads
      • Cross-Partisan Visions
      • Democracy Pie
      • Our Freedom
  • Pop Culture
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
  • events
  • About
      • Mission
      • Advisory Board
      • Staff
      • Contact Us
Sign Up
  1. Home>
  2. Voting>
  3. early voting>

Kentucky lawmakers make rare bipartisan push for voting expansions

Sara Swann
https://twitter.com/saramswann?lang=en
March 02, 2021
Kentucky statehouse

Having passed the state House, it now moves across the Capitol to the Senat.

traveler1116/Getty Images

While many GOP lawmakers across the country are pushing for voting restrictions, Republicans in Kentucky are taking a different approach.

Last week, the state House passed with near unanimous support a bill to allow for early voting on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday before Election Day. Although this period is much shorter than the three weeks of early voting allowed during last year's pandemic-era election, making early voting a permanent fixture in Kentucky is still a significant expansion.

Following the 2020 election, in which most states adapted their voting rules and procedures in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, legislators are now considering whether to make these voting expansions permanent or to roll back access to the ballot box. Republicans are generally in favor of more restrictive measures because they erroneously claim their proposals will protect against mail voting fraud, but opponents see such moves as efforts to suppress left-leaning voters.


The legislation now goes to the Senate, which had proposed its own version of the bill. Since the election changes received such broad, bipartisan support in the state House, it is likely to also pass through the Senate and head to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear's desk once the differences have been resolved.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

In addition to the early voting change, the House bill would also establish centers where any voter in the county may cast a ballot regardless of precinct. Each county would also be required to provide at least one secure drop box for absentee ballots.

If the bill is enacted, election officials will need to notify voters of any signature matching issues with their ballot and to give them the opportunity to fix it. This ballot "curing" process has not previously been available to voters in Kentucky.

However, the bill would not expand absentee voting eligibility. Currently, only Kentuckians with certain excuses (such as age, illness, disability or temporary residence outside of the state) can vote absentee. Voting by mail was temporarily expanded to all eligible voters last year due to Covid-19.

The online portal that was created last year for requesting absentee ballots will remain in use, though.

The bill also includes provisions more typical of Republican efforts. So-called "ballot harvesting" by third-party entities would be prohibited, allowing only for family members, housemates or caregivers to return ballots for voters who cannot do so themselves. The state would also be required to remove from the voter rolls anyone who registers in another state.

From Your Site Articles
  • Add Kentucky to list of states being sued to expand voting access ›
  • State lawmakers seek changes to voting rights laws - The Fulcrum ›
  • N.J., Ky expand mail voting access, Ind. does not - The Fulcrum ›
  • Report: How to improve voting for everyone after 2020 - The Fulcrum ›
  • 5 election stories you may have missed - The Fulcrum ›
  • Vermont sets bipartisan example for expanding vote by mail - The Fulcrum ›
  • Need proof that bipartisanship exists in Congress? Here are 3 examples from this week. - The Fulcrum ›
  • Where states are advancing bipartisan voting reforms - The Fulcrum ›
Related Articles Around the Web
  • Opinion: Keep your eye on Kentucky's voting plans - CNN ›
  • Kentucky House passes bill to allow early in-person voting ›
  • Kentucky election reform bills adds early voting, mail-in limits ›
early voting

Want to write
for The Fulcrum?

If you have something to say about ways to protect or repair our American democracy, we want to hear from you.

Submit
Get some Leverage Sign up for The Fulcrum Newsletter
Follow
Contributors

Reform in 2023: Leadership worth celebrating

Layla Zaidane

Two technology balancing acts

Dave Anderson

Reform in 2023: It’s time for the civil rights community to embrace independent voters

Jeremy Gruber

Congress’ fix to presidential votes lights the way for broader election reform

Kevin Johnson

Democrats and Republicans want the status quo, but we need to move Forward

Christine Todd Whitman

Reform in 2023: Building a beacon of hope in Boston

Henry Santana
Jerren Chang
latest News

Becoming the (healthy) fungus among us

Debilyn Molineaux
22h

Podcast: God squad: Let friendship redeem the republic

Our Staff
22h

Facebookopoly

Seth David Radwell
23h

Does partisanship impact happiness?

Lynn Schmidt
07 February

Return copyright to its roots: Compensate human creators

Samantha Close
07 February

It’s the institutional design, stupid! With a parliamentary system, America could avoid gridlock and instability

Milind Thakar
06 February
Videos

Video: America's civic education gap: What can business do?

Our Staff

Video: What does it mean to be Black?

Our Staff

Video: The dignity index

Our Staff

Video: The Supreme Court and originalism

Our Staff

Video: How the baby boom changed American politics

Our Staff

Video: What the speakership election tells us about the 118th Congress webinar

Our Staff
Podcasts

Podcast: God squad: Let friendship redeem the republic

Our Staff
22h

Podcast: Why Democrats fail with rural voters

Our Staff
06 February

Podcast: Anti-racism: The pro-human approach

Our Staff
03 February

Podcast: 2024 Senate: Democrats have a lot of defending to do

Our Staff
02 February
Recommended
Becoming the (healthy) fungus among us

Becoming the (healthy) fungus among us

Big Picture
Podcast: God squad: Let friendship redeem the republic

Podcast: God squad: Let friendship redeem the republic

Podcasts
Facebookopoly

Facebookopoly

Big Picture
Does partisanship impact happiness?

Does partisanship impact happiness?

Big Picture
Return copyright to its roots: Compensate human creators

Return copyright to its roots: Compensate human creators

Business & Democracy
Video: America's civic education gap: What can business do?

Video: America's civic education gap: What can business do?