Kentucky: Secretary of State emerges as most quotable opponent of fraud panel | Yahoo News

More than 40 states and the District of Columbia are saying they can’t or won’t hand over voter data to President Trump’s “election integrity” commission — and Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Grimes had a colorful way to describe how the White House request has been received in her state. “As my grandmother used to say, ‘It’s about as welcoming as a breeze off an outhouse,’” Grimes said on MSNBC Wednesday. “The folks across the state — not just Democrats, but Republicans — are realizing that turning over personal sensitive information to the federal government — to the president who has requested this — one, isn’t in the state’s interest and two, isn’t in individuals’ interests.” The data requests were first made last week by the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, a group formed by Trump following his unsubstantiated claims of massive voter fraud in the 2016 election. The letters requested information about voters, including birthdays, party affiliation and the last four digits of their Social Security numbers.

Kentucky: Secretary Grimes denies White House request for voter information | WKYT

Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes says her office will not comply with a request by the President’s Commission on Election Integrity. The commission, headed by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach and Vice President Mike Pence, was formed by President Trump in May to investigate alleged acts of voter fraud. Trump has claimed without evidence that 3 million to 5 million people voted illegally in the 2016 election.

Kentucky: Early voting provisions become law | Harlan Daily Enterprise

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.

Kentucky: Early Voting Provisions Grimes Championed Become Law | WMKY

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.”

Kentucky: Voting Fraud vs. Election Fraud And Claims Of Chicanery In Kentucky | WFPL

In a national television appearance on Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell knocked down claims of wide-scale voting fraud in the presidential election. While tossing cold water on President Trump’s repeated (and unsubstantiated) claims of fraud impacting the election, McConnell did say that vote fraud is real, it happens, and Kentucky has a history of it. “… the Democratic myth that voter fraud is a fiction, is not true,” McConnell said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “We’ve had a series of significant cases in Kentucky over the years. There is voter fraud in the country.” Our reporting pals at WAVE-3 in Louisville asked McConnell’s office for details. His office responded with a link to our newsroom’s August 2016 article on Kentucky’s history of vote buying. So, is McConnell right? Is fraud rampant in Kentucky? No, not really. The answer is complicated, though, and it boils down to semantics.

Kentucky: Secretary of State pushing for early voting and ex-felon voting rights | Lane Report

Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes said that during the Kentucky General Assembly, which began Tuesday, she will push for early voting and legislation to make it easier for veteran-owned businesses to get started. “When I took office, I promised Kentuckians that I would bring commonsense changes and reforms to the Secretary of State’s office—that I would make it easier to do business with government and tear down barriers to the ballot box—and, together, we are making strides,” Grimes said. “In this session, I’ll continue to keep that promise.” Grimes’ legislative campaign for early in-person absentee voting began last year and won bipartisan support, including the endorsement of Tre Hargett, the Republican Secretary of State of Tennessee. He traveled to Frankfort to offer his testimony on the legislation. Grimes’ proposal calls for allowing all Kentucky voters to cast ballots early in-person without an excuse during their county’s in-person absentee voting window. Early voting is offered in 37 states and the District of Columbia.

Kentucky: Special elections prove costly for Kentucky counties | Daily Independent

Boyd County will spend $80,000 for a one-question “wet” election on packaged alcohol sales — three months before it spends another $90,000 on the presidential election. Kentucky law bars counties across the state from holding local-option elections on the same day as primary and general elections, if the special election is county wide. “That’s so archaic,” said Boyd County Judge-Executive Steve Towler. “It’s utterly ridiculous to have a special election for one question.” County clerks across the state have lobbied Kentucky legislature to amend KRS 242.030 to help alleviate the cost of county-wide, local-option elections. A previous bill, for instance, would’ve helped by requiring the petitioners calling for a vote on county-wide alcohol sales to cover part of the cost. House Bill 621, the most recent attempt to alter the statute, was halted last March.

Kentucky: Recanvass of Democratic Primary votes confirms Hillary Clinton wins Kentucky | Louisville Courier-Journal

Hillary Clinton remains the winner of Kentucky’s Democratic presidential primary after Thursday’s recanvass of votes. “The recanvass results that we received today are the same as those certified totals that my office received on Friday. The difference between Hillary Clinton and Sen. (Bernie) Sanders: 1,911 votes,” Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes announced Thursday afternoon at the State Capitol. Unofficial vote totals reported by the state Board of Elections on the night of the May 17 primary gave Clinton a 1,924-vote lead over Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont. But those totals changed slightly on Friday – reducing the margin to 1,911 votes – after each county reported its certified results to Grimes’ office later in the week. Grimes said the recanvass resulted in no change from those certified results she had in hand as of Friday: 212,534 votes for Clinton, and 210,623 votes for Sanders. “The recanvass vote totals, which were submitted to my office today will become the official vote totals that the State Board of Elections will certify on May 31,” Grimes said.

Kentucky: Recanvass Of Presidential Primary Votes Will Happen Thursday | WFPL

Bernie Sanders has requested a recanvass of votes cast in Kentucky’s Democratic presidential primary last week, which he lost to Hillary Clinton by 1,924 votes. The recanvass is essentially a re-tabulation of results from each precinct and will be conducted on Thursday, May 26, according to the Kentucky Secretary of State’s office. “The purpose of a recanvass is to verify the accuracy of the vote totals reported from the voting machines,” Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes tweeted after receiving Sanders’ request. Sanders sent the request to Grimes’ office on Tuesday morning; the deadline to ask for a recanvass is 4:00 Tuesday afternoon. According the Kentucky Democratic Party, Clinton won 28 delegates and Sanders won 27 from last week’s primary election.

Kentucky: Bernie Sanders asks for recanvass of Kentucky primary vote | The Washington Post

Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) has requested a state-run recanvass of last week’s Kentucky Democratic primary, hoping to earn at least one more delegate out of one of the year’s closest races. The decision, first reported by the Associated Press, came just hours before the deadline to request a new look at the Kentucky vote. On election night, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton led Sanders by 1,924 votes out of 454,573 cast. That prompted her campaign to declare victory, and for Kentucky’s election chief Alison Lundergan Grimes, a Clinton supporter, to tell news outlets that Clinton was the “apparent winner” of an upset. But Sanders never quite conceded the election. At rallies since the May 17 vote, he has referred to Kentucky as a delegate tie — it was, awarding 27 delegates to each candidate — and talked about dramatically cutting Clinton’s margin from the 2008 Democratic primary. On election night, after CNN reported that Sanders would not request a recount or recanvass, his spokesman Michael Briggs told The Washington Post that the decision was still to be made.

Kentucky: A recanvass isn’t same thing as a recount | Louisville Courier-Journal

A recanvass is essentially a review of the vote totals in each county. County clerks will review the absentee votes and check the printouts to make sure the numbers were correct when they were transmitted to the State Board of Elections. State law allows for recanvassing only if a county clerk or a county board of elections notices a discrepancy or if a candidate makes a written request to the secretary of state.

Kentucky: Bevin signs legislation to restore felons’ voting rights | WKU Herald

Gov. Matt Bevin signed a bill into law on April 13 that will make it easier for felons in Kentucky to have their records expunged and restore their full rights as citizens. Kentucky House Bill 40 will allow felons the opportunity to submit for expungement five years after probation or the end of their sentence, whichever is the longest. “It’s an honor and privilege to be able to sign House Bill 40 into law,” Bevin said at the signing. “It is critical that there is an opportunity for redemption and second chances because America is a land that was founded on these principles. The greatness, uniqueness, beauty and extraordinary nature of America is based on the fact that we do give people an opportunity for redemption.” The law comes after Kentucky’s previous governor, Steve Beshear, filed an executive order to allow released felons to vote shortly before he left office last year. That executive order differs significantly from the one signed last Wednesday.

Kentucky: General Assembly, Clerks Pass On Expanded Early Voting | WKU Public Radio

A bill to allow no-excuse early voting in Kentucky is dead for this year. Legislation proposed by Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes cleared the House, but never came up for a vote in the Senate. The legislation was aimed at boosting voter turnout in Kentucky. Currently, voters must have a qualifying reason to vote early. Grimes was the leading supporter of the bill. She expressed frustration that the measure won’t be passed this year. “I’ve traveled the state and people feel it’s something that we should already have,” Grimes stated. “Much like online voter registration, it’s something they expect.”

Kentucky: Grimes Touts New Online Voter Registration Tool | Richmond Register

Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes continued her statewide tour of college campuses Tuesday at Eastern Kentucky University, where she is encouraging people, especially students, to register in time for the May 17 primary election using the Commonwealth’s new online voter registration portal, GoVoteKY.com. The deadline to register to vote in the May primary is April 18. Several students used the portal at the town hall to register to vote and attendees discussed the portal’s ease of use, accessibility and other election issues. Grimes said the OVR will improve the accuracy of voter rolls and will lead to major cost savings for the Commonwealth and hailed the portal as a major success for Kentucky. Grimes said her administration has worked creating the portal for less than a year and that the new online system was created in-house using Kentucky talent while partnering with Microsoft.

Kentucky: Judge tosses ban on corporate campaign donations | Associated Press

A federal judge has ruled that Kentucky cannot bar a corporation from contributing to political campaigns while no such restrictions apply to other organizations such as labor unions. The ruling stems from the heated battle over “right-to-work” legislation in the state: the labor unions that oppose those measures are allowed to make political donations, while a non-profit corporation that promotes them is not. U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove ruled on Thursday that Kentucky Registry of Election Finance officials cannot enforce the state’s constitutional prohibition on corporate contributions, finding the disparate treatment of corporations and unincorporated organizations violates the Constitutional right to equal protection under the law.

Kentucky: Early voting bill still in Senate committee | Commonwealth Journal

A bill that would allow a minimum of 12 days of early, no-excuse voting before Election Day by all registered voters in Kentucky, is currently in the Senate’s Veterans, Military Affairs & Public Protection Committee, and apparently at this point has not been scheduled for a hearing. Numbered HB 290, the measure passed the House last week by a vote of 57-37. If the bill is approved by the Senate and signed into law by Gov. Matt Bevin, it would allow early voting by all registered voters ahead of the November 8 general election. It is uncertain at the moment if the bill, sponsored by Rep. Reginald Meeks, D-Louisville, has been placed on the Senate committee’s agenda for a hearing.

Kentucky: House, Senate disagree on felon voting rights | The State Journal

Pam Newman said her mother served out a felony sentence in Pennsylvania and could vote again in that state, but when her family moved to Kentucky her mother’s voting right was taken away. During a bill hearing Wednesday, Newman pleaded with lawmakers that the time had come for a change to the state’s voting restoration laws. Senate President Robert Stivers (R-Manchester) testified on his bill giving state residents a chance to add an amendment to Kentucky’s constitution which would give the General Assembly the right to decide felon eligibility for voting right restoration. Restoring felon voting rights has become an evergreen issue in the legislative session for at least 10 years.

Kentucky: Bill to restore felon voting rights advances | Courier-Journal

A Senate committee on Wednesday approved a constitutional amendment that would give the General Assembly the power to restore voting rights to convicted felons without the need for a gubernatorial pardon. Senate Bill 299 wouldn’t automatically restore voting rights like House Bill 70 would, but instead it would allow the legislature to do it by statute. It passed the Senate State and Local Government Committee on a 10-0 vote. Under the Kentucky Constitution, only the governor has the authority to restore voting rights. Proponents have argued that once someone serves their sentence, they should have rights restored in an effort to assimilate them back into the community.

Kentucky: Online voter registration comes to Kentucky | Lexington Herald-Leader

Kentuckians can now register to vote online. Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes touted the state’s new online registration system, GoVoteKy.com, Monday at a news conference in the Capitol Rotunda. Grimes, the state’s chief election official, said Kentucky voters also can use the system to change their existing registration information, such as political party affiliation. Before, Kentuckians had to register to vote or change voting information by mail or in person using voter registration cards. The new system will be more convenient, said Grimes, noting that 30 states already have online registration. The system was activated March 1. “Already, a 93-year-old went online to update her registration,” Grimes said.

Kentucky: Secretary of State Calls for No-Excuse Early Voting | WKU Public Radio

Kentucky’s Secretary of State says lawmakers have a way to increase voter participation statewide. Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes spoke in Frankfort Monday in support of early voting legislation. Under a bill proposed by Secretary Grimes, Kentucky voters could cast early in-person ballots without an excuse. Currently, voters must have a qualifying reason to vote early. Grimes points to the success of no-excuse early voting in other states.

Kentucky: House passes felon voting restoration bill | The Daily Independent

The General Assembly paused Thursday to honor former state senator and civil rights activist Georgia Davis Powers, whose body lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda. But the memorial service didn’t prevent the two chambers from passing a couple of bills that they’ve previously passed but failed to secure approval from the other chamber. The Democratic House passed House Bill 70 that would place a proposed constitutional amendment before voters that, if approved, would automatically restore the voting rights of ex-felons convicted of non-violent, non-sexual crimes after completion of their sentences. It was an issue which two years ago brought Powers to the Capitol where she urged lawmakers to pass the measure, then sponsored by Lexington attorney and state Rep. Jesse Crenshaw who has since retired from the General Assembly.

Kentucky: Once Again Lawmakers Consider Restoring Voting Rights | Public News Service

An effort to automatically restore voting rights to nonviolent offenders who have served their time has, once again, sailed out of committee in the Kentucky House to an uncertain fate. The idea has cleared the full House every year since 2007, but has been repeatedly blocked in the Senate. The legislation would put a proposal on the ballot for a constitutional amendment, for Kentuckians to decide. Rep. Derrick Graham, a Democrat from Frankfort, is a cosponsor of House Bill 70. “These people have paid their debt to society,” says Graham. “We ought to provide them with hope; we ought to provide them with opportunity. We should be forgiving them.”

Kentucky: Powers’ spirit invoked in renewed effort to restore felons’ voting rights | WAVE

A House panel took less than 10 minutes to approve unanimously, a bill that would allow those convicted of non-violent felonies to regain their rights to vote. Supporters have invoked the name of the first woman and first person of color to serve in the Kentucky Senate, who died Jan. 30 at the age of 92. “Georgia Powers, she said it best,” Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes (D-Lexington) told the House Committee on Elections, Constitutional Amendments and Intergovernmental Affairs on Monday. “Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude and right now, Kentucky is failing!”

Kentucky: New Governor Takes Back the Vote | The New York Times

Matt Bevin, Kentucky’s new governor, has only been in office a couple of weeks, but he’s already managed to re-disenfranchise tens of thousands of his state’s residents with the stroke of a pen. He did it by reversing an executive order issued late last month by his predecessor, Steven Beshear, that made as many as 140,000 Kentuckians with a nonviolent felony conviction immediately eligible to register to vote. Kentucky is one of three states, including Florida and Iowa, to impose a lifetime voting ban on people convicted of felonies. (Individuals may still petition for a restoration of their rights, which the governor decides on a case-by-case basis — an arduous, “quasi-monarchical” process.) Mr. Bevin, a Tea Party Republican, said he supports restoring voting rights to those with criminal records, but that it is an issue that should be “addressed through the legislature and by the will of the people,” not the governor’s office.

Kentucky: It’s too soon to tell if Kentucky GOP’s presidential caucus will be worth it | Lexington Herald-Leader

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans to participate in the Republican Party of Kentucky’s presidential preference caucus March 5, and he’s hoping he never has to do it again. “I’m not a fan of caucuses and I hope this is the last one we have,” McConnell told the Herald-Leader. With nominating contests set to begin in earnest when Iowans go to their caucuses Feb. 3, anxiety and optimism abound in Kentucky as party leaders move forward with the unusual contests. The move away from a traditional primary was proposed and passed by party officials as a way to help U.S. Sen. Rand Paul get around a state law that prohibits candidates from appearing on the same ballot twice, but the idea also was sold as a way to grow the party and increase the state’s relevance in selecting a presidential nominee. Now, with eight candidates committed to participate in the contests, Republicans are uncertain but hopeful that the caucuses will achieve those goals. ‘It’s not going to be New Hampshire’

Kentucky: New governor reverses executive order that restored voting rights for felons | The Washington Post

Kentucky’s new Republican governor has rescinded an executive order that restored voting rights to as many as 140,000 non-violent felons, surprising some observers who had watched him — and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) — argue for a more lenient approach to the issue. “While I have been a vocal supporter of the restoration of rights,” Gov. Matt Bevin (R-Ky.) said in announcing the order, “it is an issue that must be addressed through the legislature and by the will of the people.” The November election, which Bevin won in an upset, did not really turn on felon voting rights. In Bevin’s view, outgoing Democratic governor Steve Beshear forced the issue, granting a mass restoration after eight years of following the usual, slow, individualized standard for voting rights.

Kentucky: Governor Restores Voting Rights to Thousands of Felons | The New York Times

Weeks before he leaves office, the governor of Kentucky on Tuesday issued an executive order that immediately granted the right to vote to about 140,000 nonviolent felons who have completed their sentences. The order by Gov. Steven L. Beshear, a Democrat, was cheered by advocates for criminal justice reform and civil rights, who said it would place Kentucky’s policy more in line with others across the nation and was consistent with a trend toward easing voting restrictions on former inmates. Kentucky had been one of just three states imposing a lifetime voting ban on felons unless they received a special exemption from the governor. Florida and Iowa still carry the lifetime ban.

Kentucky: Beshear calls news conference on voting rights | Courier-Journal

HeadIng into the final two weeks of his administration, Gov. Steve Beshear is scheduled to hold a press conference early Tuesday for an announcement on voting rights, an issue that has kept House Democrats and Senate Republicans at loggerheads for years. Officials did not provide details about the announcement, but lawmakers have long clashed over legislation that would restore voting rights to felons after they have completed their sentences.