The Pennyrile Area Development District heard from Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams during Monday’s virtual meeting about recent voting legislation and security efforts.
House Bill 574 was signed by Governor Andy Beshear recently, with Secretary Adams saying that it not only creates three days of early voting in future elections, it also keeps the online voter portal, so absentee ballots can be requested while remaining transparent both to voters and election officials.
Secretary Adams says in a time where some people are questioning issue of fraud of lack of security in elections, Kentucky was able to maintain a highly secure election and will continue to do so into the future.
The election legislation would allow him to keep cleaning the voting rolls, which he says will make for shorter lines, higher voter turnout, expressly prohibits and penalizes ballot harvesting. The legislation was a bipartisan effort which Secretary Adams says will make voting in the state easier and safer than ever.
Unemployment offices are set to open in the coming weeks through the career centers, including in Hopkinsville, where people can make appointments to get in-person assistance with any continuing issues they are having with unemployment insurance. Shelia Clark with workforce development says at this time there will not be UI assistance taking place in the affiliate offices of the PADD district, only in Paducah and Hopkinsville for now.