Election season is in full-swing. Early in-person voting began October 29th and election day is November 3rd. While this time is marked by energy on both sides of the political aisle, some are still cynical about this midterm cycle—even raising concerns about the validity of whatever results November 3rd will yield.
Americans have reason to insist upon election integrity. Transparent and honest elections are essential to the health of democracy and to the peaceful transfer of power. Without trust, the system collapses.
This highlights both the importance of election integrity and also the danger of public accusations of corruption.
Thankfully, Kentucky has no reason to fear the former concern. The Bluegrass State is one of the top ranked states in the country concerning election integrity. And recent actions from Secretary of State Michael Adams show that Kentucky takes voter fraud seriously.
Secretary of State Michael Adams recently announced that since coming to office, he has removed over 300,000 dead voters from the voter rolls. He went on to call Kentucky a “national success story for clean elections.”
The Secretary of State office is not alone in its zeal for clean elections. Actions from the General Assembly this last session should also bolster voters’ confidence as they head to the polls. House Bill 139 was enacted earlier this year after the General Assembly overrode Governor Beshear’s veto. The bill requires that voters must present a valid ID in order to be admitted to vote. Acceptable IDs include a Kentucky drivers license, a passport, a student ID, or a military ID. The bill also specifies that Social Security and food stamp cards will no longer be sufficient to vote.
As for mail-in ballots, they too have accountability built in. This is due to House Bill 574, which was passed in 2021. The bill essentially creates guardrails for electronic paper-ballot counting machines, to “offer the speed of a quick count, and the security of a paper trail.”
But while public trust is secured by the official actions of the state, some—on both sides of the political aisle—are still seeking to undermine public confidence in election integrity.
For instance, the rhetoric of one Republican candidate for Secretary of State rhetoric has become radical on this issue. The candidate publicly accuses Kentucky’s elections of being corrupt—stating that “our voting machines steal our votes” and that Kentucky’s elections are “rigged.”
The candidate blames sitting Secretary of State Michael Adams for much of this alleged corruption, but credible evidence has yet to be presented.
This rhetoric is dangerous, as it undermines public confidence in the electoral process. But it is not only Republicans who are undermining this confidence in Kentucky.
Earlier this week, the Department of Justice announced it would be sending election monitors to Jefferson and Fayette counties—an ordinary practice that has occurred in Kentucky under both Democratic and Republican presidential administrations.
Despite the routineness of the presence of election monitors, many on the left are upset about this prospect. Yet, the monitors are not there to intimidate voters. They will be over 100 feet outside of the polling locations—per Kentucky law.
Suggesting such routine accountability measures somehow intimidates voters is not healthy rhetoric—especially as the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that less than 50% of Americans are “very confident” votes in the upcoming midterms will be counted accurately.
Now is the time for officials to curb public doubt in election integrity by embracing accountability measures and welcoming transparency.
As Abraham Lincoln said, “Elections belong to the people.” And it’s the job of the State to make sure it stays that way.
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