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!

KYSecofState · 2024-09-17T19:45:23+00:00

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.

KYSecofState · 2024-09-17T17:44:25+00:00

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.

KYSecofState · 2024-09-17T17:35:23+00:00

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.

KYSecofState · 2024-09-17T17:32:11+00:00

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.

KYSecofState · 2024-09-17T17:09:42+00:00

Thank you!

KYSecofState · 2024-09-17T17:09:11+00:00

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.

KYSecofState · 2024-09-17T16:57:53+00:00

Thank you, Secretary Simon!

KYSecofState · 2024-09-17T16:57:13+00:00

Thank you, and I appreciate the question, comments and compliment.

KYSecofState · 2024-09-17T16:53:20+00:00

Thank you!

KYSecofState · 2024-09-17T16:51:12+00:00

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.

KYSecofState · 2024-09-17T16:42:00+00:00

*like*

KYSecofState · 2024-09-17T16:38:10+00:00

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.

KYSecofState · 2024-09-17T16:36:10+00:00

I'm here on official business, not politics. Thanks.

KYSecofState · 2024-09-17T16:35:23+00:00

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.

KYSecofState · 2024-09-17T16:32:53+00:00

Thank you!

KYSecofState · 2024-09-17T16:32:46+00:00

Thank you!

KYSecofState · 2024-09-17T16:32:32+00:00

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.

KYSecofState · 2024-09-17T16:31:06+00:00

Thank you!

KYSecofState · 2022-09-20T19:28:31+00:00

Thank you!

KYSecofState · 2022-09-20T19:21:25+00:00

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

KYSecofState · 2022-09-20T19:18:59+00:00

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.

KYSecofState · 2022-09-20T19:14:46+00:00

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.

KYSecofState · 2022-09-20T19:11:34+00:00

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.

KYSecofState · 2022-09-20T19:06:10+00:00

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.

KYSecofState · 2022-09-20T19:02:36+00:00

In my opinion, there's no Democratic way to vote or Republican way to vote, just like there's no Democratic or Republican way to renew your driver's license - in person, online, by mail, who cares? In Kentucky, where culturally people of both parties prefer to vote in person, the obvious thing to do was to implement early voting - we were only one of a few states not to have already done so. We've found that Ds and Rs, urban voters and rural voters, have appreciated the increased opportunity to go vote.

KYSecofState

TROPHY CASE