August 24, 2020 at 12:53pm
KFTC and allies have been fighting for the Election Kentucky Deserves, making our case to the Governor, Secretary of State and State Board of Elections that Kentucky can choose to defend both our democracy and the health of all Kentuckians.
With a series of decisions over the last week, we’ve won much of that vision including universal access to voting by mail, weeks of in-person voting before election day including Saturdays, and drop boxes for ballots.
Here are some highlights about how this year’s election will work
August 11, 2020 at 02:06pm
Note: The Election Kentucky Deserves was sent on August 12 as an open letter to Secretary of State Michael Adams, Governor Andy Beshear and all members of the State Board of Elections from 54 Kentucky organizations.
Most Kentuckians agree that our democracy works best when we all have a voice and a vote in the decisions impacting our lives.
In this year’s primary election, many Kentuckians could vote early or by mail for the very first time and overwhelmingly chose those options. We had record voter turnout and largely did it safely from our homes. It wasn’t perfect. But that’s something to celebrate in any election and especially in the middle of a pandemic.
Now the risk of COVID-19 is greater than ever. Kentucky has the opportunity to improve upon that election process and give Kentuckians the election we deserve – one that makes voting safe, convenient, secure and robust.
July 14, 2020 at 10:05am
The Kentucky Voting Rights Coalition has just under 3 months to register some 170,000 people with felonies in their past who got their right to vote back through Beshear's executive action. We plan to do it through phone conversations, texting, door-to-door canvassing, mailers, PSAs, and more. But all that starts with training! Can you come out to learn more about how to help people navigate this process? If so, sign up below!
June 24, 2020
WLEX-TV
More than 140,000 Kentuckians with felonies had the opportunity to vote in Tuesday’s primary election for the first time since Gov. Andy Beshear restored their voting rights in December.
Juan Gomez was among them.
June 23, 2020
The Courier-Journal
Tuesday marked the first election since Gov. Andy Beshear automatically restored voting rights more than half of an estimated 312,000 Kentucky residents with felonies who had completed their sentences.
June 23, 2020 at 09:23am
KFTC Leader Debbie Graner of Frankfort, voted for the first time yesterday after getting her right to vote back! Debbie fought hard to restore voting rights and because of her work and others, 152,000 people with felonies in their past can vote this election who could not vote last election.
People with felonies in their past who want to know if they got their right to vote back can visit CivilRightsResoration.ky.gov to check, then they can register normally.
If you have questions, call Dave Newton at 859-420-8919.
June 15, 2020 at 09:19am
TODAY – June 15 – is the Deadline to Request your Ballot to Vote By Mail. Requests have to be in by 11:59 p.m.
Every registered voter in Kentucky is encouraged to vote by mail, and you can request a ballot at www.GoVoteKY.com. This is the easiest way to get a mail-in ballot. For people having trouble with that website address, here's a direct link.
Please go ahead and request your ballot today while you’re thinking about it, double check your request if you're still waiting for your ballot, and encourage others to do the same!
When you get your ballot, go ahead and fill it out and return it right away. You can use www.KentuckyElection.org to learn more about candidates and their stances.
May 19, 2020 at 11:28am
Voting will be a little different this year for the June 23 primary election, with most voting happening by mail. But there are a few different options Kentucky voters have to cast their ballot.
There will be a link where you can request a ballot at www.GoVoteKY.com starting May 22. You can alternately call your county clerk now to request a mail-in ballot, but that process will have added steps. You can find your county clerk's number at this website. Some county clerk websites also have an online form to request a ballot.
There's a June 15 deadline to request mail ballots. Ballots need to be postmarked no later than June 23 and received by June 26 (but earlier is better!). Postage on ballots is already paid, and there will also be local drop boxes at limited locations if you'd prefer to drop them off rather than mailing them.
April 23, 2020 at 02:36pm
Kentuckians shouldn’t have to choose between being heard in our democracy or keeping ourselves, our families and our neighbors safe from the pandemic. Kentucky is one of just a handful of states that don’t generally allow voters to Vote By Mail and haven’t expanded vote-by-mail options in the current pandemic.
April 17, 2020 at 12:46pm
We won a major victory late last year when Governor Andy Beshear signed an executive order restoring the right to vote to an estimated 152,000 people with felonies in their past. About half of people who are off of probation and parole got their right to vote back. The problem is that in most cases, no one has told them that.
Since then, he rolled out a tool at CivilRightsRestoration.KY.gov people can use to see if they got their right to vote back through that order.
