No agreement yet between Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams on how to conduct the November general election, but both sides say they are not that far apart.
“We actually agree on a lot more than people realize,” Adams told reporters after the two men met at the Governor’s office Wednesday afternoon. “He wants a safe election with high turnout. So do I.”
The major sticking points, according to Adams, are how long the early voting period will be, how broad the excuses should be for absentee voting, and how fast can the votes be cast and counted.
On the final point, Adams said, “Do we have a deadline of Election Day to receive all the ballots, or do we give them a little more time, if they are mailed, to get to us?”
Adams said he believes none of the issues are insurmountable. “I think we are very, very close to an agreement.”
He says he believes four weeks of early voting is too long, not only for candidates having to be at their peak for that period of time, but also for the people who own the polling locations having to give up the space for that long. He thinks two weeks, with Saturday hours should be enough.
Adams has also said universal absentee voting by mail is a big burden for both the U. S. Postal Service as well as county clerks, especially since he expects two and a half time the turnout that was seen in the primary.
He says the two will be meeting again soon. “I have some homework to do, I’m going to take a stab at making some modifications to what I had,” he said. “The Governor had some suggestions for improvement. I think he was right, and I’m happy to include them.”