Kentucky: Data stolen in Jefferson County cyberattack includes election info, employee reviews | Sophia Fox-Sowell/StateScoop

Officials in the Jefferson County Clerk’s office in Kentucky this week confirmed that sensitive data such as personnel files, Social Security numbers and election administration information may have been compromised in a cyberattack last month. On Monday, RansomHub, a ransomware group responsible for the July cyberattack on the Florida Health Department, listed Jefferson County as a victim on its ransomware data leak site and claimed responsibility for the cyberattack. The group claims it exfiltrated 47 gigabytes of data from the county, a trove that might include ballot data and voter records going back as far as 2008. On a leak site, RansomHub’s countdown clock points to Saturday as the deadline for payment. A ransom amount isn’t listed, and the county clerk’s office declined to confirm whether it had received a ransom demand. Read Article

Kentucky: Issue with ExpressVote machines discussed during 2023 Election Recap at Fiscal Court | Spencer Mahon/Richmond Register

Madison County Clerk, Kenny Barger, addressed concerns raised about the county's ExpressVote ballot marking devices during a county fiscal court meeting, explaining that voters attempting to make a straight-party selection were inadvertently hitting just above the Republican option due to touchscreen calibration issues. Barger emphasized that the reported errors did not result in incorrectly cast votes, and the machines were secure, cost-effective, and convenient. He acknowledged the need to rectify the trust issues stemming from the reported problems and pledged to ensure better accountability from vendors in the future. Read Article

Kentucky: Madison County Clerk pushes back against ballot-marking machine manufacturer claims | Ricky Sayer/Lex18

ES&S claims the ExpressVote ballot marking devices used in 23 Kentucky counties, where at least seven faced reported touch screen issues, were working as designed. Madison County Clerk Kenny Barger responded that that may be true, but if it is, it means the machines were poorly designed. “They’re designed for voters, not election experts,” said Barger. “It’s voting, it has to work well for the voter.” Some voters experienced issues with the machines recognizing clicks on the check-box for a straight Democratic ticket as a Republican straight-party ticket. The manufacturer plans to remove the check box in future versions of the machines. Read Article

Kentucky county clerks bow out as election conspiracy theories persist | Morgan Watkins/Louisville Courier Journal

The last two and a half years have been unusual for the county clerks who help manage Kentucky's elections, first with the pandemic at least temporarily changing how people voted and then with the spread of persistent-but-debunked election conspiracy theories. Some clerks decided 2022 was a good time to bow out, for various reasons. Even clerks staying on the job indicated they've noticed distrust of their work. This comes as former President Donald Trump's insistence that he won the 2020 election (when he actually lost to President Joe Biden) continues to take root within the GOP. Scottie Harper, who stepped down this summer after 16 years as Logan County clerk, said his decision was impacted by unfounded suspicions of fraud directed toward election officials. “With any job that you do, if you have that on you day in and day out ― somebody saying you’re doing this corruptly ― it begins to affect you," Harper told The Courier Journal. "There has to be change, or you're going to run more clerks off.” Full Article: Kentucky county clerks bow out as election conspiracy theories persist

Kentucky secretary of state praises latest election bills that will make voting easier and speed the statewide transition to paper ballots | Bruce Schreiner/Associated Press

Amid the flurry of action in Kentucky’s legislature this week, two election-related bills passed that will make voting easier and speed the statewide transition to paper balloting, Secretary of State Michael Adams said. Unlike some states, where measures setting election rules have sparked bitter partisan fights, the two Kentucky measures cleared the GOP-dominated legislature with bipartisan support.  The bills — sent to Gov. Andy Beshear — are a follow up to a high-profile election measure enacted last year with bipartisan backing that expanded early voting in Kentucky. Adams, a Republican, urged the Democratic governor to sign the latest measures, which delved into a range of election-related issues — including election security and voting access. “Together, these bills will make voting easier, expand our existing audit process, add much needed legal protections for our election workers and speed up our transition to universal paper ballots,” the secretary of state said Wednesday.

Full Article: Kentucky secretary of state praises latest election bills | AP News

Kentucky county clerks to authenticate via Yubikey | GCN

Kentucky is planning to equip all the commonwealth’s 120 county clerks with Yubikey devices to enable two-factor authentication that will better protect the state’s voter registration system from unauthorized access. Users insert a Yubikey token into the USB ports on their laptops and touch its button to verify they are a local human user and not a remote hacker. The Yubikeys will be made available thanks to a federal grant obtained via a joint partnership of the Kentucky Secretary of State, the mayor of Lexington, Ky., the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. “In 2020, despite the pandemic, we had a successful election thanks to our state and local officials, who kept our citizens safe, while making secure voting more accessible and more convenient,” Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton said in an April 7 announcement. “Now Secretary of State [Michael] Adams is taking the next step by helping us add another layer of security. We greatly appreciate his work. Free and fair elections are essential to our democracy.”

Full Article: Kentucky county clerks to authenticate via Yubikey -- GCN

Kentucky: How GOP-dominant state passed bipartisan election reforms | Adam Brewster and Caitlin Huey-Burns/CBS News

State legislatures across the country have been embroiled in high-profile, partisan fights over elections laws since the ballot boxes were put away after the 2020 elections. Kentucky is one of the states where a Republican supermajority voted to change its voting laws, but unlike most GOP-dominant states, lawmakers here sent a sweeping bipartisan bill expanding voting access to the governor's desk. The secret to their success? During the pandemic, Democratic Governor Andy Beshear and Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams worked together to try to give voters more options to cast ballots. That led to a record number of voters in November, with more than 2.1 million Kentuckians voting. The turnout benefited Republicans, who expanded their majorities in the state House and Senate and saw former President Trump carry the state by 26 points. And the secretary of state's office found the counties with the highest proportion of early voting were the most Republican counties. As it turned out, voters and local officials alike welcomedthe changes, and encouraged lawmakers to make some overdue reforms to the state's voting laws. "Everyone agreed it was a successful election. It wasn't an accident...given how we approached it in a bipartisan way," Adams told CBS News. "I'm proud we are expanding access when other states are not...sensitive both to access and security, you can have both at the same time."

Full Article: How GOP-dominant Kentucky passed bipartisan election reforms - CBS News

Kentucky lawmakers advance bipartisan election reform bill | Bruce Schreiner/Associated Press

 In sharp contrast to bitter partisan battles being waged elsewhere over election laws, Republicans and Democrats in Kentucky moved closer Tuesday toward loosening the state’s voting access laws to make limited early voting a fixture. A measure overwhelmingly approved Tuesday in the state Senate would give Kentucky voters three days of no-excuse, early in-person voting — including a Saturday — before Election Day. But it backed off from the temporary, pandemic-related accommodations made last year that allowed widespread mail-in absentee balloting. The bill also seeks to strengthen election security protections. The legislation passed the Senate by a 33-3 margin, sending it back to the House to consider changes made to it. Republicans dominate both chambers, but Senate Democrats joined in voting for the bill. However, the measure didn’t come up for a potential final vote before the House adjourned shortly before midnight. That means supporters will have to wait until lawmakers reconvene for a two-day wrap-up session in late March to take up the measure. If it clears the legislature, it would be sent to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear. “If it passes and becomes law, not only will it transform the way in which Kentucky elects its public officials, but also ensure that we have one of the best voter integrity laws in the country,” Republican Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer said. Kentucky is accustomed to bare-knuckled partisan fights, but its top elections official noted the mild tone in the state, especially compared to the bitter debates on election law changes in other states. It echoed the tone set before last year’s primaries, when Beshear and Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams hashed out emergency voting measures during the pandemic that helped Kentucky largely avoid the long lines and other problems encountered elsewhere.

Full Article: Kentucky lawmakers advance bipartisan election reform bill

Kentucky Election Reform Effort Gets Bipartisan Backing | Ryland Barton/NPR

In states like Georgia and Arizona, there are fierce partisan battles going on right now over voting proposals. But in Kentucky's Republican-led legislature, a bill to boost voter access and election security has gotten widespread support from both parties. The legislation is now at the Senate, after passing the House 93-4 late last month. The proposal would preserve some of the policies Kentucky implemented last year to ensure voter access during the coronavirus pandemic, including a short period during which people can vote early, and allowing people to "cure" mail-in ballots that were improperly signed. But it also includes election integrity measures typically favored by Republicans, like a ban on so-called ballot harvesting and making it easier to remove people who have moved out of Kentucky from the state's voter rolls.

Full Article: Kentucky Election Reform Effort Gets Bipartisan Backing : NPR

Kentucky House passes bills to allow early voting, weaken open records law | Joe Sonka/Louisville Courier Journal

The Kentucky House passed a bill Friday to allow three days of early voting and keep several other emergency measures enacted during Kentucky's elections last year. The chamber also passed House Bill 312, which prohibits open records requests to government agencies from people outside of Kentucky, in addition to removing Franklin Circuit Court's jurisdiction on appeals for records denied by the state legislature. House Bill 574, enshrining no-excuse early voting for the first time in Kentucky, passed easily through the chamber Friday with a 93-4 vote. Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit last year, Kentucky prohibited early voting by mail or in person unless a person could not vote on Election Day because of advanced age, illness, severe disability or temporarily residing out of the county or state — making its voting access laws one of the most restrictive in the country. Through executive action resulting from the COVID-19 emergency, Gov. Andy Beshear and Secretary of State Michael Adams allowed three weeks of no-excuse, in-person early voting for the general election, along with setting up a new online portal for any registered voter to request an absentee ballot and cast it by mail or deposit it in a drop box. With those emergency measures expiring, HB 574 now requires three days of early voting on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday before an election, which are held at voting centers where anyone in the county can vote. While the legislation keeps the online portal to request absentee ballots, it no longer allows every registered voter to request and submit such a ballot through the mail, reverting back to the exceptions in current law.

Full Article: House passes bills to allow early voting, weaken open records law

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul falsely claims presidential election was ‘stolen’ | Morgan Watkins/Louisville Courier Journal

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul continues to falsely claim — without proof — voter fraud played a role in the election of President-elect Joe Biden. The Kentucky Republican said during a Wednesday congressional hearing the election "in many ways was stolen." Paul made that baseless comment during a meeting of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held in Washington, D.C., two days after the Electoral College met nationwide and formally awarded Biden 306 electoral votes versus Trump's 232 electoral votes, based on the certified November election results. The Electoral College's vote Monday affirmed Biden's victory. In light of that, Kentucky's other Republican senator, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, finally acknowledged Biden as the president-elect on Tuesday. "The Electoral College has spoken," he said that morning. But Paul, who has represented Kentucky in Congress since 2011, still refuses to recognize Biden's defeat of President Donald Trump. Similarly, Trump himself continues to falsely claim, without evidence, the election was compromised by voter fraud. He has lost numerous legal challenges over the election results in court over the past several weeks.

Full Article: Sen. Rand Paul falsely claims presidential election was 'stolen'

Kentucky Weighs Changing System After Election Success | David Guiildford/Spectrum

During a pandemic, Kentucky facilitated record voter turnout — implementing methods foreign to the largely conservative state like excuse-free absentee voting and three weeks of open polls. Adams, the Commonwealth's Republican secretary of state, ruffled feathers among some in his party when he used legislatively gifted emergency executive powers to work with Governor Andy Beshear, a Democrat, on the plan for 2020's June primary and November General Election. As Adams begins to make plans for the future, what changes, if any, might he suggest to lawmakers for permanent change? "I certainly think that four things are strong in their ability to pass [through the legislature]," he said during a sit-down interview in his capitol office. "Early voting, for at least a few days, I don’t think we need three weeks of voting in every election, but a few days would really help working people get to the polls." The other three changes under Adams' consideration are keeping voting centers, or "hubs," within counties that offer each ballot type regardless of precinct; maintaining the online portal for voters to use for assistance and Adams to use to monitor needs and activity; and the process of curing ballots. Curing involves flagging absentee ballots that are submitted with errors, often in good faith, and contacting the voters-in-question to resolve the issues. With few people voting by mail in Kentucky before 2020, Adams said there was no curing procedure in place. Under the first year of its use, fewer than 1% of the 626,000 absentee ballots submitted statewide had to be discarded.

Full Article: After Election Success, Kentucky Weighs Changing System

Kentucky secretary of state suggests making early voting permanent and other election ideas | Jack Brammer/Lexington Herald Leader

Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams suggested several changes Wednesday to how the state conducts elections, including permanent provisions for early voting and an online portal to request an absentee ballot. Adams, the state’s top elections official, made his comments in a speech to the 46th annual Kentucky Association of Counties Conference, which was held virtually. Adams, a Republican, and Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear made changes this year to the state’s primary election in June and the Nov. 3 general due to the coronavirus pandemic that is still raging.“With the election not yet concluded, it’s too soon to decide what reforms we ought to make permanent; but it’s not soon to start a conversation about how to improve our election system,” said Adams in his KACo speech.Kentucky should consider keeping early voting, he said.

Full Article: Kentucky elections chief suggests election changes | Lexington Herald Leader

Kentucky: Kentuckians sue to keep primary election’s absentee voting option in place for fall | Morgan Watkins/Louisville Courier Journal

Four Kentuckians are suing in an attempt to secure a court ruling requiring the absentee voting process Kentucky implemented for the June primary to be used in this fall's general election, too. The new lawsuit also asks for a court order prohibiting the enforcement of Senate Bill 2 while Gov. Andy Beshear's open-ended COVID-19 state of emergency remains in effect. The controversial bill, approved this year by the state legislature, requires voters to show photo identification to cast a ballot. Margaret Sterne, 65, and Helen LeMaster, 84, of Calloway County, as well as Fred Mozenter, 72, and Debra Graner, 69, of Franklin County, are plaintiffs in the case. The lawsuit says they all have health conditions that put them at risk of becoming severely ill from the coronavirus if they catch it.

Kentucky: Coronavirus threatened to make a mess of Kentucky’s primary. It could be a model instead. | Zach Montellaro/Politico

Coronavirus has upended elections around the country since the pandemic landed in America, and last month, it was feared Kentucky would be the next disaster. National figures from Hillary Clinton to LeBron James warned of impending calamity in the state, focusing on a dramatic decrease in polling places, especially in Louisville. But after the votes came in, Kentucky earned measured praise from voting rights advocates for how it largely sidestepped the missing ballots, long lines and other problems faced by many states amid coronavirus. The Democratic governor and Republican secretary of state reached bipartisan agreement on a massive expansion of absentee voting, leading to the highest primary turnout in Kentucky since the hard-fought 2008 presidential primary. Now, voting rights experts say other states should be reaching out to Kentucky for advice, as a potential blueprint for scaling up pandemic-safe voting for the November elections. “I think Kentucky could be a model for states that have not done a lot of absentee voting prior, or they've had excuse absentee, in terms of scalability,” said Amber McReynolds, chief executive officer of the National Vote At Home Institute and a former elections director in Denver, Colo., when the state instituted one of the broadest vote-by-mail programs in the country. Just over 1 million Kentuckians voted in the primary despite the pandemic, the highest primary turnout in the state in 12 years. Roughly 75 percent of the votes were cast via absentee ballot, said Secretary of State Michael Adams. Kentucky's size means the changes they made won't be as easy to scale in some states, especially in a general election scenario, but the primary also went much better than other states' so far this year.

Kentucky: ‘A substantial challenge’: What Kentucky, New York tell us about voting in a pandemic come November | Joey Garrison/USA Today

NBA star Lebron James slammed Kentucky's plan to cut voting sites from 3,700 to 200 "systemic racism and oppression." Stacey Abrams called it "voter suppression." So did Hillary Clinton, declaring it's time to restore the Voting Rights Act. But the dire forecasts ahead of Kentucky's state primary Tuesday – warnings of severely long lines and disaster certain to come – didn't materialize. In fact, some critics quickly changed their tune after recognizing that Kentucky sacrificed in-person voting sites for a robust vote-by-mail program that allowed anyone to vote absentee from home amid the coronavirus pandemic. In a sharp reversal from her message the day before, Clinton tweeted "kudos" Tuesday night to Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear for making it "easy for every (Kentuckian) to vote" through no-excuse mail-in voting and early voting. An estimated 1.1 million Kentuckians voted in the primary – a record for a Kentucky primary – including 75% through mail-in ballots in a state where typically only 2% vote absentee. Kentucky is now getting widely lauded for its election performance. Still, vote-by-mail advocates aren't ready to crown the Bluegrass State the perfect model for voting in a pandemic during the November general election.

Kentucky: Lexington candidate had to convince election officials dogs ate her primary ballot |Associated Press

A Kentucky woman was allowed to vote after convincing the board of elections that her dogs ate her and her husband’s absentee ballots. Christine Stanley, a 34-year-old Lexington health care attorney, voted in the Democratic primary at Kroger Field but only after getting out of line and going before the board of elections. After showing the board evidence, including “lots of bite marks, drool and dirt,” she and her husband were allowed to vote, and Stanley said she voted for herself for the Urban County Council seat she is seeking, for Charles Booker in the Democratic primary to challenge Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell and for Democrat Josh Hicks to run against Republican Rep. Andy Barr. Stanley, who is Black, said race didn’t really play a part in her choice of Booker.

Kentucky: Despite poll worker crunch, Kentucky voters poised to break turnout records as they embrace mail ballots | Amy Gardner, Michelle Ye Hee Lee and Elise Viebeck/The Washington Post

Voters in Kentucky were on track to cast ballots in record numbers for Tuesday’s primary despite the risk of coronavirus infection and shortages of poll workers, thanks in part to the widespread embrace of voting by mail. Michael G. Adams, Kentucky’s Republican secretary of state, projected that total turnout would exceed 1 million, including roughly 800,000 mailed ballots. The final figure would shatter the previous record of 922,456 primary voters set in 2008. Poll worker cancellations had forced election officials to staff fewer than 200 polling locations instead of the usual 3,700, but Adams said an avalanche of mail-in balloting and in-person early voting helped lessen demand on the polls Tuesday. The numbers reflected an overwhelming shift to absentee voting by Kentucky voters, even as President Trump has railed against mail ballots and claimed without evidence they lead to massive fraud. As of mid-afternoon, about 570,000 absentee ballots had been received by election offices in the state, in addition to the 100,000 ballots cast at early voting locations. At least 156,000 people voted in person on Election Day. Primaries were also held Tuesday in Virginia, as well as New York, where there were scattered reports of delays in opening polling sites, voters receiving incomplete ballot packages and long lines that stretched into the night.

Kentucky: State votes amid COVID-19, suppression claims as late voters are allowed into polling site | Phillip M. Bailey and Joe Sonka/Louisville Courier Journal

Kentuckians streamed into polling places across the state on Tuesday during a historic primary election that withstood a global pandemic and outside worries of voter suppression. When polls opened at 6 a.m., a line had formed at the lone voting location in Jefferson County — the cavernous Kentucky Exposition Center at the state fairgrounds. Those who showed up throughout the day described their experience as quick and easy, with most saying the traffic entering and leaving the parking lot was the most difficult task. Conflict erupted, though, when the Jefferson County Clerk's Office closed the doors at 6:03 p.m., just after the announced time for voting to cease throughout the state, leaving a crowd of about 50 people outside. About a dozen voters pounded on the glass doors and shouted, "Let us in!" The campaign of state Rep. Charles Booker, a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, sought an injunction to allow the polling place to stay open until 9 p.m., according to a tweet from campaign manager Colin Lauderdale.

Kentucky: While national voices claim ‘voter suppression,’ Kentucky on pace for record voter turnout | Phillip M. Bailey and Joe Sonka/Louisville Courier Journal

While national Democrats, athletes and celebrities are saying Kentucky's rescheduled primary is an attempt at voter suppression, the Bluegrass State is on its way to a possible record turnout in Tuesday's primary election. Kentucky received high marks months ago when Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams agreed to allow registered voters to mail in absentee ballots to avoid in-person voting during the coronavirus pandemic. Under the plan, Kentuckians have also been allowed to vote in-person since June 15, a week ahead of the new primary date. "If the governor and I are both suppressors, we're doing a terrible job because we've got the highest turnout we've ever seen — and that's the bottom line," Adams told The Courier Journal on Monday. Critics of Kentucky's plan have ranged in the past few days from NBA star LeBron James to former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

Kentucky: State braces for possible voting problems in Tuesday’s primary amid signs of high turnout | Michelle Ye Hee Lee /The Washington Post

Fewer than 200 polling places will be open for voters in Kentucky’s primary Tuesday, down from 3,700 in a typical election year. Amid a huge influx in requests for mail-in ballots, some voters still had not received theirs days before they must be turned in. And turnout is expected to be higher than in past primaries because of a suddenly competitive fight for the Democratic Senate nomination. The scenario has voting rights advocates and some local elections officials worried that the state is careening toward a messy day marked by long lines and frustrated voters — similar to the scenes that have played out repeatedly this spring as the novel coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the 2020 primaries. Because of a shortage of workers willing to staff voting sites during the health crisis, each of the commonwealth’s 120 counties is opening a very limited number of polling locations. The two largest counties will have just one in-person location each. On Thursday evening, a federal judge rejected an effort to add polling places in the state’s largest counties, citing a legal standard discouraging last-minute court intervention in election procedures. That means Jefferson County — the state’s largest, home to 767,000 residents and the city of Louisville — will have as its sole polling location a convention and expo center where voting booths have been set up about eight feet apart in a cavernous hall. About 1 in 5 residents in the county is African American, the largest black population in the state.

Kentucky: Election officials scramble to conduct mail-in primary | Daniel Desrochers/Lexington Herald Leader

Kentucky’s primary election is on June 23. Sort of. By then, though, almost everyone will have already cast their vote. Some people have already started voting by absentee ballot, and those will become widely available in coming days. Every county in the state is supposed to offer in-person voting by appointment only starting June 8. The last day to mail in your ballot is June 23. The last day for county election officials to transmit vote totals to the Secretary of State’s office is June 30th. Welcome to voting in the middle of a global pandemic. “A regular election is super hard,” said Gabrielle Summe, the Kentucky County Clerk. “There’s a lot of moving pieces, there’s a lot of logistics. This election, no one really knows what to expect.” This April, as COVID-19 spread through the state, Gov. Andy Beshear and Secretary of State Michael Adams came to an agreement: they would let Kentuckians vote by mail. The reasons were simple: the coronavirus spreads easily in large crowds and most poll workers are older than 65, making them particularly vulnerable to deadly complications from the virus.

Kentucky: State board working through election complications | Tom Latek/State Journal

The State Board of Elections met Tuesday to continue preparations for what is likely to be the most unusual election in Kentucky history due to the coronavirus pandemic. Chairman Ben Chandler repeated their goal is to have as many people as possible vote by absentee mail-in ballot for the primary election, which was delayed from May 26 to June 23.  “We’re having trouble getting poll workers, which shouldn’t surprise anybody, and we want to make sure that not only the poll workers who are necessary but the administrative staff at the county clerk offices and the voting public are safe,” he said. Chandler also acknowledged the county clerks have to be able to accommodate those who vote in-person absentee, as well as those who want to vote on Election Day itself, so each of the 120 county clerks were to submit a plan to the state Board of Elections for approval. Executive Director Jared Dearing told the board members, “We are currently at around 90-plus counties with a little less than 30 more to come in. We are in contact with those counties who are still making their plans as we speak.”

Kentucky: Voters to get free postage for absentee ballots | The Herald Ledger

Kentuckians choosing to vote by absentee mail-in balloting in next month’s primary won’t have to pay for postage under a decision by state elections officials last week. The State Board of Elections (SBE) adopted the free postage at a special meeting conducted online, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported. The board also said county clerks will be able to hire temporary help to manage the election during the coronavirus pandemic. The board’s emergency regulations follow Gov. Andy Beshear’s executive order last week that calls on all voters to use absentee voting by mail if they can in the June 23 primary election. But in-person voting will still be made available. Every eligible registered voter will receive a postcard with instructions on how to apply for an absentee ballot, which will be delivered by mail. A secure online portal for all voters to request the ballots is being created. All eligible voters who apply for an absentee ballot will qualify to receive one. “The SBE is working on the portal, but hasn’t given us a firm date as to when it will be ready,” said Lyon County Clerk Lori Duff. Once the ballot is completed, it can be mailed free of charge or can be dropped off at a secure county-government location.

Kentucky: Voters will get free postage for their absentee ballots | Jack Brammer/Lexington Herald Leader

Kentuckians who decide to use absentee voting by mail for the June 23 primary election will not have to pay for postage, and county clerks will be able to hire temporary help to manage the unsual election during the coronavirus pandemic. The State Board of Elections unanimously adopted the free postage and additional help for county clerks in a set of emergency regulations at a special meeting conducted online Friday morning. Gov. Andy Beshear, after working out a plan with Secretary of State Michael Adams to conduct the election, signed an executive order last week that calls on all voters to use absentee voting by mail if they can. State lawmakers last month made sure that Adams, a Republican, and Beshear, a Democrat, both have a say in how the election will be conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Beshear had vetoed language that required he and Adams to agree on a plan, but the Republican-led legislature overrode his veto. Beshear’s order said the State Board of Elections will come up with emergency regulations to provide for expanded absentee voting by mail.

Kentucky: State to allow mail-in ballots for every registered voter in June 23 primary | Ben Tobin and Phillip M. Bailey/Louisville Courier Journal

Kentucky is allowing all registered voters to mail in their ballots for the state's rescheduled primary election June 23 — a major bipartisan agreement designed to avoid in-person voting during the coronavirus pandemic. Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear signed the executive order Friday after reaching an agreement with Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams. It comes weeks after a messy fight in Wisconsin that forced voters to go to the polls, leading to at least 19 of them testing positive for COVID-19. Beshear and Adams have been in talks for weeks about the best way for Kentuckians to exercise their right to vote amid the outbreak. "While there will be significant education and work required, we are committed to making sure this election will be held in a safe manner while we are in this worldwide health pandemic," Beshear said in a statement.

Kentucky: Secretary of State Thanks General Assembly for Granting Flexibility in Election Procedures | Paul Hitchcock/WMKY

Kentucky Secretary of State Michael G. Adams today thanked state legislators of both parties for passing legislation that would grant the Governor, Secretary of State and State Board of Elections additional flexibility in the conduct of the 2020 primary election now set for June 23. Adams testified before a Senate committee, asking for legislation to empower a change to the “manner” of an election in case of a state of emergency. Current state law permits the Governor and Secretary of State to change the “time” or “place” but not “manner” of an election. Adams’ measure would free the State Board of Elections to develop a primary election procedure more open to absentee voting, which may be necessary if the current pandemic continues into the spring.

Kentucky: Bill Requiring Secure Voting Machines Advances, Without Funding | Ryland Barton/WFPL

As the Kentucky legislature continues to meet during the coronavirus pandemic, lawmakers advanced a bill that would require counties to purchase more secure voting machines whenever they replace their old ones. The measure would provide no funding for counties to purchase the equipment, though Kentucky will soon get about $6.4 million in federal funding to boost election security. That’s a tiny fraction of the overall need, though—state election officials estimate Kentucky needs about $80 million to upgrade voting machines across the state. Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams told a legislative committee on Thursday morning that there are 29 counties that only use outdated voting machines that don’t create a paper backup. “It’s primarily rural counties that have equipment that’s functionally obsolete, or at least aging. Those will be the first places that we allocate the funds to,” Adams said. Electronic voting machines that create paper copies of individual ballots have become the industry standard in recent years amid worries about foreign actors being able to hack domestic elections.

Kentucky: Governor moves primary election date | Bruce Schreiner and Dylan Lovan/Associated Press

Kentucky's governor has pushed back the May primary election and halted bar and restaurant in-person visits as he took aggressive steps to contain the new coronavirus. Gov. Andy Beshear also announced the state's first death linked to the illness The 66-year-old Bourbon County man had other health conditions but his death was counted as a coronavirus fatality, Beshear said Monday. He offered his sympathy to the man's family. “There were numerous factors that led to this point," the governor said. “The coronavirus was only a factor. But what it means is that it’s very important that we all do our patriotic duty as we move forward to model the type of behavior that we need.” Beshear announced a postponement of the May primary election to June 23 after consulting with Secretary of State Michael Adams on Monday. Hall said that would give state officials time to prepare for an election if things aren't yet back to normal.

Kentucky: Election Machinery Regularly Scanned by Foreign Hackers, Official Says | DH Kass/MSSP Alert

The state of Kentucky’s election systems are “routinely scanned” by foreign hackers, including North Korea, Russia and Venezuela, a senior election official told legislators in a state House budget subcommittee hearing. “This is not something that is in the past, that happened in 2016,” Jared Dearing, executive director of Kentucky’s Board of Elections told the subcommittee, according to the (Kentucky) Courier Journal. “It happens on a weekly basis.” A U.S. Department of Homeland Security official meets with the board every week to go over every scan against Kentucky’s system, he said. Cyber break-ins at the state election level are a growing concern for security defenders, with many states complaining rightfully that funding to fend off attacks is sorely lacking. “We’re asking county clerks with very, very limited resources, with not enough IT staff, to fully maintain their own systems,” Dearing said. “We’re asking them to participate in national security.” Late last year, some help arrived in the federal government’s fiscal 2020 budget agreement that includes $425 million in state election grants to improve cybersecurity. Increased awareness by state officials combined with supplemental financial support could present new opportunities for managed security service providers (MSSPs) and managed service providers (MSPs).