Preserving Voting Rights in Kentucky

Misinformation about the risks of voting by mail and about the purported prevalence of extensive voter fraud have threatened to discourage democratic participation across the country, including in Kentucky. American Oversight is investigating the state’s election administration, including the development and implementation of mail-in ballot provisions, the potential influence of voting-restriction activists and groups, and Kentucky’s “Ballot Integrity Task Force,” which is among a slew of such groups that appear to be more about promoting false narratives about widespread voter fraud than protecting voters’ access to the ballot. 

After Kentucky’s 2019 gubernatorial election, activists connected to defeated incumbent Gov. Matt Bevin held a new conference where they made easily debunked allegations about voter fraud, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported. The Ballot Integrity Task Force, announced on May 28, 2020, is co-chaired by Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams and Attorney General Daniel Cameron. In the press release announcing the task force, Cameron implied that the increased reliance on mail-in ballots because of the Covid-19 pandemic made the upcoming primary election more vulnerable to “election law violations,” echoing false claims often made by then-President Donald Trump. 

American Oversight has submitted open records requests in Kentucky for a variety of relevant election-related documents and communications. We’ve already received some records in response, including a production containing emails about the deployment of mail-in absentee ballots during the primary. In September, we sued through counsel Strobo Barkley PLLC for information about the Ballot Integrity Task Force and for Cameron’s related communications.