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Photo: Secretary of State website
A new law to strengthen Kentucky’s early voting statutes took effect late Tuesday, Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes announced Wednesday. Gov. Matt Bevin signed House Bill 319 into law just before the 10-day veto period expired after the General Assembly adjourned.
“I am extremely proud to see part of the early voting reforms we have pushed for years finally take effect,” Grimes said. “This new law will give thousands of voters who struggle with age, a disability or illness a path to have their voices heard by voting early via mail or in person.”
Prior to the enactment of House Bill 319, voters who could not vote in person on Election Day due to age, disability, or illness could only cast absentee ballots by mail. Those voters may now visit their county clerk’s office to cast ballots in-person during the absentee voting window.
Another provision of the new law allows counties to require parties pushing special local option elections not held on regular election days to pay for those elections. Grimes was a proponent of this legislation, which county officials say will save their counties thousands of dollars in election costs.
“The success of this bipartisan legislation would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of Rep. Kenny Imes, chair of the House Elections Committee, Rep. Jody Richards, Rep. James Tipton, and Sen. Jimmy Higdon.”
House Bill 319 carried an emergency clause, so it took effect immediately upon the Governor’s signature.
New laws Grimes backed that will take effect in June include Senate Bills 189 and 235.
Grimes worked with deaf and hard of hearing advocates and bipartisan lawmakers to pass Senate Bill 189 in this legislative session. The law will allow more than 700,000 deaf and hard of hearing Kentuckians to indicate voluntarily their status in the state’s vehicle registration system, allowing law enforcement officers to see the status during traffic stops.
Senate Bill 235, sponsored by Sen. Morgan McGarvey (D-Louisville), makes changes to Kentucky law to update statutes regarding businesses. Grimes, as Kentucky’s chief business official, has continued to work to streamline the Commonwealth’s business statutes.
The Governor has delivered to the Secretary of State’s office all legislation the General Assembly approved and sent to him for signature, Grimes said. Enacted legislation will take effect in June.
Photo: Secretary of State Grime’s Office
Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes welcomed and congratulated new United States citizens at a naturalization ceremony on Thursday at the national headquarters of the Sons of the American Revolution.
Grimes recognized 97 new citizens from 39 different countries who took the oath of citizenship to become Americans officially. She spoke to the new citizens and their families about the importance of voter participation, civic engagement, and being committed to their communities.
“On this special occasion, we’re celebrating at the Sons of the American Revolution – a conflict which resulted in America’s independence and the building of a country which has become a melting pot of people like each of you,” Grimes said. “All of us are here because of the people who led the Revolution, and today we affirm the ideal that America is a place for everyone.”
Grimes encouraged the new citizens to use one of their newly attained rights as citizens by registering to vote via Kentucky’s online registration portal at GoVoteKY.com. The portal is easy to navigate and it takes just a few short minutes to complete the registration process, Grimes said.
Grimes imparted upon the new citizens the importance of participating in elections and asked them to go to the polls in every cycle.
“I’m counting on you to lead us on a course change when it comes to voting. Each of you must take part in the process. America’s future cannot be built on apathy,” said Grimes.
Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes confirmed Tuesday nearly 60 percent of Kentucky voters cast ballots in last November’s presidential election. The State Board of Elections recently finalized voter credit for the cycle.
“More Kentucky voters than ever – 1,955,195 – voted in the 2016 election,” said Grimes, Kentucky’s chief election official. “After our successful effort to launch online voter registration at GoVoteKY.com and make our voter rolls more accurate, a historic number of Kentuckians showed up and made their voices heard at the ballot box.”
The turnout represented 59.1 percent of the electorate, a short decline from 2012’s 59.7 percent turnout and 64 percent in the 2008 presidential election.
“These numbers still show that we have plenty of work to do to get Kentuckians engaged and that includes pushing for election reforms like early voting which make it easier to vote,” Grimes said.
About 62.8 percent of Republicans voted compared to 58.5 percent of Democrats. Forty-five percent of voters identifying as Independent or affiliated with another party cast votes.
Turnout was strongest among Republican men 62 years old and older – 73 percent – followed by Republican women between the ages of 50 and 61 who voted at a rate of about 70 percent. The lowest turnout was among women, 25 to 34 years old, at 36 percent.
The turnout rates among the political parties when compared to the 2012 election was mixed. Republicans voted at the same rate as in 2012 with 62.8 percent of GOP voters going to the polls. Democrats saw their turnout decline by a percentage point from 59.5 in 2012. There was no change in turnout for voters identifying as other or registered in other parties with about 45 percent casting ballots in November.
Since 2008, the rate of voter turnout is down across the board. Republicans saw a decline of more than two percent since that election and the turnout among Democrats declined by about six percent. Turnout of all other voters declined by more than five percent.
Official voter turnout totals are available at GoVoteKY.com.
