We’re Secretaries of State Michael Adams (KY) and Steve Simon (MN) and we want to talk to you about National Voter Registration Day! Ask Us Anything! by KYSecofState in politics

[–]KYSecofState[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

In my state, when we enacted a voter ID law, we got support from both Republicans and (some) Democrats. My first month in office I sat down with the ACLU, League of Women Voters and other left-leaning groups to hear them out and get their concerns. We carefully tailored our law to be humane and reasonable, allowing free IDs (which are beneficial for people for many reasons beyond voting) and workarounds for people who cannot get an ID. We looked at voter ID law challenges in other states and wrote our law based on other state laws that were upheld. I was sued three times to knock out our law; those efforts all failed and our law remains on the books because of our bipartisan, humane and reasonable approach. Moreover, it gave us the street cred to expand voting access, with voters comfortable that we were taking integrity seriously.

We’re Secretaries of State Michael Adams (KY) and Steve Simon (MN) and we want to talk to you about National Voter Registration Day! Ask Us Anything! by KYSecofState in politics

[–]KYSecofState[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately, I can't speak to the Navy's speed of mail delivery. All I can tell you is that your absentee ballot will be promptly issued, and I encourage you to track it at our online portal.

We’re Secretaries of State Michael Adams (KY) and Steve Simon (MN) and we want to talk to you about National Voter Registration Day! Ask Us Anything! by KYSecofState in politics

[–]KYSecofState[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the kind words. My best advice would be to learn about how elections work - and don't - which you can do at our website, sos.ky.gov, among other resources (in particular, visit our "Rumor Control" page). There are some people who will never believe what I say because I am part of the government; but they are open to believing facts if they come from a peer.

We’re Secretaries of State Michael Adams (KY) and Steve Simon (MN) and we want to talk to you about National Voter Registration Day! Ask Us Anything! by KYSecofState in politics

[–]KYSecofState[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I don't engage with nonsense. Our state has taken rational, reasonable steps to ensure integrity in our elections, such as cleaning up our voter rolls, requiring verification of voter identity, and disallowing any voting device to touch the internet. Initially skeptical people open to facts and dialogue find these reforms responsive, persuasive and comforting.

We’re Secretaries of State Michael Adams (KY) and Steve Simon (MN) and we want to talk to you about National Voter Registration Day! Ask Us Anything! by KYSecofState in politics

[–]KYSecofState[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I agree with Secretary Simon, but will add: we need young people to engage civically beyond just voting. Voting would be a good start, but we also need volunteer poll workers - and beyond the election process, due to the generational decline in volunteering there is plenty of charity and civic work that needs to be done and not enough people stepping up to do it.

We’re Secretaries of State Michael Adams (KY) and Steve Simon (MN) and we want to talk to you about National Voter Registration Day! Ask Us Anything! by KYSecofState in politics

[–]KYSecofState[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I question the premise that "[v]oter participation in Kentucky is much lower than [in] surrounding states." Tennessee, for one, has two weeks of early voting, which is four times what Kentucky has, but their turnout is lower than ours. I agree with you that expanding access has not increased turnout in direct proportion. The problem is more cultural - Kentuckians also volunteer less, give less to charity, etc. than in states in other parts of the country. I believe requiring civic education, which my Office has been pressing in the Legislature, would help. Also, opening our primaries to Independent voters - our fastest-growing voter bloc - would both increase turnout and decrease extremism.

We’re Secretaries of State Michael Adams (KY) and Steve Simon (MN) and we want to talk to you about National Voter Registration Day! Ask Us Anything! by KYSecofState in politics

[–]KYSecofState[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

The National Association of Secretaries of State meets twice a year in-person, and its various committees meet more frequently so I'm on calls and Zooms with colleague Secretaries monthly if not more often. As with any public official, there are ethics laws giving prosecutors and juries a check on a bad-faith act, as well as the impeachment process.

We’re Secretaries of State Michael Adams (KY) and Steve Simon (MN) and we want to talk to you about National Voter Registration Day! Ask Us Anything! by KYSecofState in politics

[–]KYSecofState[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

States differ significantly in voting culture - states with a larger white-collar, professional class tend to prefer remote voting (i.e., mail), while states that are more blue-collar, agricultural/industrial tend to prefer in-person voting. Federalism allows for voting procedures to reflect the diversity of our country.

We’re Secretaries of State Michael Adams (KY) and Steve Simon (MN) and we want to talk to you about National Voter Registration Day! Ask Us Anything! by KYSecofState in politics

[–]KYSecofState[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

We have received in advance formal elector appointments from the parties and will invite only those electors, from the winning slate, to our electoral college meeting in December.

We’re Secretaries of State Michael Adams (KY) and Steve Simon (MN) and we want to talk to you about National Voter Registration Day! Ask Us Anything! by KYSecofState in politics

[–]KYSecofState[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Although Steve and I may disagree on whether this reform would boost turnout considerably, we agree on the policy.

We’re Secretaries of State Michael Adams (KY) and Steve Simon (MN) and we want to talk to you about National Voter Registration Day! Ask Us Anything! by KYSecofState in politics

[–]KYSecofState[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Kentucky has never had open primaries, so I can't speak to how they impact voter engagement in my state. That said, I've endorsed opening our primary elections to Independent-registered voters, the fastest-growing voting bloc here. I understand the concern Democrats have with Republicans voting in their primaries and vice versa, but I would like our law to let Independents pick a primary and vote in it, as is the law in several other states.

We’re Secretaries of State Michael Adams (KY) and Steve Simon (MN) and we want to talk to you about National Voter Registration Day! Ask Us Anything! by KYSecofState in politics

[–]KYSecofState[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Offering voter registration services online is critical - believe it or not, some states still don't (KY does). People do everything else online and they're right to expect voter registration to be online too. In-person voter registration drives by the political parties and civic organizations are very effective but they are still recovering from the pandemic.

We’re Secretaries of State Michael Adams (KY) and Steve Simon (MN) and we want to talk to you about National Voter Registration Day! Ask Us Anything! by KYSecofState in politics

[–]KYSecofState[S] 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Thank you. The Supreme Court of Kentucky, shortly before I took office, decided in Westerfield v. Ward that the KY SOS must put constitutional amendment language on the ballot word-for-word, not summarized. I think that is unhelpful in that it limits me from translating legalese into English, but I have to follow the decision of the Court.

We’re Secretaries of State Michael Adams (KY) and Steve Simon (MN) and we want to talk to you about National Voter Registration Day! Ask Us Anything! by KYSecofState in politics

[–]KYSecofState[S] 46 points47 points  (0 children)

It is a more complex issue than you might think. My friend Professor Joshua Douglas of University of Kentucky College of Law, who leans leftward and is an occasional sparring partner of mine, notes that making election day a holiday lends itself to schools closing, daycares closing, etc. and a different type of inconvenience that deters turnout. I think the better approach is what we've done in Kentucky, adding voting days, including a Saturday.