Courier-Journal: “The Kentucky General Assembly passed significant legislation Monday night that will make three days of widespread early voting a regular part of the state’s future elections and expand people’s access to the ballot in other ways while also instituting new security measures.
The state House of Representatives’ Republican and Democrat members overwhelmingly voted late Monday night, in a 91-3 decision, to give House Bill 574 final passage and send it to Gov. Andy Beshear’s desk.
As long as the governor doesn’t veto it, HB 574 will make significant changes to state law, including:
- Establishing three days of in-person early voting on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday before Election Day;
- Letting people “cure” their absentee ballots if a problem, such as a mismatched signature, would otherwise cause it to be thrown out;
- Making the online portal through which Kentuckians requested — and government officials tracked — absentee ballots in 2020 a standard feature of future elections;
- Letting counties offer vote centers where residents from any precinct can cast their ballot;
- Allowing for secure drop-boxes where people can turn in their absentee ballots;
- Requiring counties to gradually phase out electronic-only voting systems and switch to equipment that can process paper ballots;
- Letting state officials quickly remove someone from the voter rolls if they’re notified that person moved to and registered to vote in another state.”