Kentucky Gov. Beshear signs into law bipartisan elections bill expanding voting access into law
Source: CNN
By Alec Snyder, CNN
Updated 1:37 PM ET, Wed April 7, 2021
(CNN)Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear signed a bipartisan-supported bill into law on Wednesday that expanded voting access by codifying election recount procedures, online absentee ballot portals and early voting procedures -- an exception to the GOP efforts nationwide to overhaul state election rules in the wake of the 2020 election.
"Today is also a good day for democracy, a good day for elections," he said. "I want to start by talking about voting -- about how when much of the country has put in more restrictive laws -- that Kentucky legislators, Kentucky leaders were able to come together to stand up for democracy and to expand the opportunity for people to vote." The bill, HB 574, passed 91-3 in the state House and 33-3 in the state Senate before going to Beshear's desk last week.
Among its provisions are the official approval for voting centers, an online portal for absentee ballot registration and three days of early voting. It will also require drop boxes, creates official recount procedures, allows for tax dollars to advocate for or against ballot questions and mandates all voting machines to generate a paper trail for votes cast, Beshear said.
Beshear also implied the sturdy security of the 2020 election cycle and cast a thinly veiled criticism against states that have made it more difficult for voters seeking to cast their ballot.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/07/politics/kentucky-voting-bill-signed-beshear/index.html
kimbutgar
(21,040 posts)And able to be audited.
bucolic_frolic
(43,030 posts)Mitch squeaked in under the wire so this is now safe.
yellowdogintexas
(22,216 posts)come up with a successful plan for November so I am not surprised the Legislature approved it overwhelmingly.
As a KY native I am proud of the Commonwealth government. Mitch could still have tried to influence it, election year or not but it wasn't his call to make.
BumRushDaShow
(128,388 posts)Beshear is a Democrat, so what he did would be expected. It's not "an exception" because Democrats don't try to implement Jim Crow laws.
rpannier
(24,328 posts)The republikkans have a super majority. They could have just pushed through whatever they wanted
They chose not to do so
BumRushDaShow
(128,388 posts)like here in PA, we have a GOP-run state legislature, yet thanks to a Dem governor and a recent Dem-majority state Supreme Court, Dems have some leverage, and it wouldn't be the default to immediately go Jim Crow (at least right away).
With the likes of Turtle & FUCK RON PAUL'S SPAWN hailing from KY, it's a wonder to behold by having Beshear in there able to navigate the landmine. But if he hadn't been there, KY would have probably gone down the same path as the OP article indicates (much of it ALEC-generated crap).