Only lawmakers can make substantive changes to election procedures
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Last month, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear acted swiftly to postpone the state’s upcoming primary in light of the burgeoning COVID-19 pandemic. The Honest Elections Project commends this prudent response, taken in accordance with state law, which pushed the primary past the forecasted peak of the viral outbreak, and gave election officials time to develop contingency plans to preserve both public health and the integrity of the process.
Whatever shape those plans ultimately take, voters deserve to know that they are developed and implemented lawfully. That requires clarity and transparency. In that spirit, the Honest Elections Project requested a legal opinion from Attorney General Daniel Cameron, clarifying the extent of the Governor’s emergency powers to modify elections under the state Constitution and law. The opinion makes clear that the Governor is empowered to change the time and place of an election, but that only lawmakers may make more substantive changes to the manner of conducting an election—for instance, moving to an all-mail election—or modifying how voters are registered.
Click here to read Honest Elections formal request.
Click here to read Attorney General Cameron’s response.
