Bill seeking to end early voting in Kentucky exposes divisions within Republican ranks

FRANKFORT, Ky.– Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams has strongly opposed an effort to eliminate three days of early voting in the Bluegrass State, exposing rifts within Republican ranks in a state that has avoided fights over election rules seen elsewhere outbreaks.

In comments before a Kentucky House panel, Adams bluntly urged lawmakers “not back down” as he defended the law allowing three days of no-excuse in-person early voting. It allows Kentuckians to go to the polls on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday before the election.

“It would be catastrophic if we had a presidential election, with very high turnout, if it took away three of our four voting days,” Adams, a Republican, told the GOP-led committee on Thursday.

“It will be challenging enough to reach the expected two million voters in four days,” he added. “I don’t know how we could fit so many voters into one day without major problems.”

The result would be long lines, frayed nerves and voter confusion after recent election cycles in which polls were open for three days leading up to the election, his office said Friday.

His comments reflected tension over voting rules that escalated after former President Donald Trump wrongly blamed his 2020 loss on voter fraud. Republicans in some states have tried to tighten election rules, while Democrats have tried to make it easier to vote. In Kentucky, where Republicans have a supermajority in the legislature, the outcome will depend on where Republican lawmakers stand on the issue.

Adams’ comments were aimed at a Senate bill that would end early voting days. Republican Sen. John Schickel, the lead sponsor, has given speeches to promote the bill, which has been sent to a committee.

“Election Day is special; I would even say sacred,” Schickel said in a speech. “That’s why it was created to be special. So to those who say we should worship at the altar of ease and casualness, I say voting is a privilege and it is a tremendous responsibility that should never be taken as an afterthought.”

Just three weeks into a legislative session that lasts until mid-April, it is too early to judge the bill’s prospects, said Senate Republican Majority Leader Damon Thayer.

“I’m open to it because I’ve never been a big fan of early voting to begin with,” he said Friday.

The measure has attracted at least a half-dozen Republican co-sponsors in the 38-member House.

In 2021, legislation expanding early voting received bipartisan support in the Trump stronghold, drawing national attention at a time of conflict in other states over restrictive election measures.

In signing the bill, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear called it “a good day for democracy” and said it created more convenience for people to vote when it “works best for them.” Adams called it the most important update to Kentucky’s election law in more than a century.

It relaxed strict pre-pandemic voting laws but backed away from adjustments made during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when widespread absentee voting by mail was allowed.

Last year, nearly 20% of Kentuckians who voted in the November election did so during the three days of early in-person voting, the secretary of state said. Both Beshear and Adams, who worked together to reform election laws, were re-elected. Another key part of the law allows counties to establish voting centers where any voter in any county can cast their ballot, regardless of their district.

“There is nothing bad and everything good about the way Kentucky has adopted and implemented early voting,” University of Kentucky law professor Joshua A. Douglas said in an email Friday. “Kentucky was previously one of the most restrictive states in terms of the time available for people to vote. Adding three days of early voting made the state a little better.”

Schickel’s bill would allow Kentuckians to cast absentee ballots at their county clerk’s office or other designated location at least 13 business days before an election. Adams’ office said this would attract only a small portion of the electorate, making it not a replacement for the current three days of no-excuse in-person early voting.

During his committee appearance Thursday, Adams said Kentucky lawmakers — unlike those in some other states — “acted rationally and were guided by facts rather than outlandish conspiracy theories.”

“Kentucky is running clean elections,” Adams said. “In the rare case of cheating, it will be caught and prosecuted.”

Adams — whose mantra while in office was to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat — has repeatedly taken on election skeptics, calling them “cranks and kooks.” He easily won his 2023 Republican primary, which featured a challenger who promoted debunked election claims. Adams then won a resounding victory over his Democratic opponent in November. Now term-limited, Adams’ name comes up as he weighs in on the potential field of Republican candidates for governor in 2027.