When Secretary of State Alison Grimes proposed ways to allow military personnel stationed outside of Kentucky to cast absentee ballots more easily and quickly, nearly everyone said it was a good idea. But concerns about the integrity of emailed absentee ballots and allowing such ballots to be counted, even if they arrived a couple of days late, have led to different bills in the Republican-controlled Senate and Democratic-controlled House. Richard Beliles of Common Cause of Kentucky believes it would be relatively easy to hack into those emails and change votes and many county clerks – just how many is in dispute – raised similar concerns. So Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, sponsored the bill but altered Grimes’ proposal by removing the email and extra time provisions. The bill passed easily in that chamber.
… Several Republican representatives said there is no way to guarantee the secrecy of emailed ballots and that Section 147 requires all elections in Kentucky be by secret ballot.
Rep. Tim Moore, R-Elizabethtown, who served in the military overseas, said he was in charge of mail delivery during his time in the service and it receives the highest priority. He said it shouldn’t often be a problem getting the ballots back by Election Day.
Rep. Tim Couch, R-Hyden, again raised the objections of some county clerks, specifically his own, Leslie County Clerk James Lewis, about the integrity of emailed ballots and allowing them to be counted after Election Day.
Stivers cited those same concerns by county clerks and pointed to a letter from the Kentucky Clerks Association Executive Committee indicating their opposition to those provisions.
Full Article: Many clerks oppose electronic voting » Local News » Daily Independent (Ashland, KY).