2022 was another great year for Kentucky voters. Legislators passed new laws that improve voter access and ballot integrity. Kentucky remains the only state in the union that is making it both easier to vote and harder to cheat. House Bill 564 and Senate Bill 216 passed with bipartisan support, as did House Bill 1, the state budget, which increased funding to improve the election process.

House Bill 564:

• Requires early voting locations to be open for 8 hours
• Adds 6 days of in-person absentee voting before early voting starts
• Codifies our existing policy of not connecting voting machines to the internet, and makes it a felony to do so
• Protects election workers from harassment and intimidation

Senate Bill 216:

• Doubles number of counties subjected to post-election audit
• Moves up full transition to paper ballots to January 1, 2024
• Places voting machines under video surveillance when not in operation

House Bill 1

• Appropriates $25 million for upgrading to universal paper ballots
• Allocates an additional $500,000 for cleaning up voter rolls

In the 2022 general election, 253,018 voters took advantage of no-excuse early voting. 121,280 Republicans, 117,576 Democrats and 14,162 Independents voted early – proving Kentuckians of all political affiliations like the option to vote early.

Cleaning Up the Voter Rolls

In 2019, I promised that under my administration, we would take off our rolls those voters who have moved away, passed away, or been put away. More than 168,000 of such voters have been removed since I took office, including more than 138,000 deceased voters. In the coming months, we will continue this progress - watch this space for a major announcement. 

Business News

We continue to see record growth in the number of new Kentucky businesses. There were 54,956 new formations in 2022, up from 52,774 in 2021. Kentucky rounded out 2022 with 311,503 total active business entities, compared to 257,619 in 2021. In the past three years, we have seen 20% year-over-year increases in the number of businesses operating in the Commonwealth.

Fast Track Site Improvement

We have improved our Fast Track site to allow businesses to file their annual reports, form new business entities, dissolve old business entities, file and renew assumed names, complete reinstatements, and much more online -- saving you the hassle of printing paper, stuffing envelopes, and mailing items or even coming all the way to Frankfort. 

Looking Ahead

Lawmakers returned to Frankfort for the 2023 General Assembly session on January 3, and will consider numerous pressing issues, including improvements we have suggested for our election system and our business environment.

Kentuckians will once again head to polls in May, to elect constitutional officers. The primary will be held on May 16 and the general election on November 7. We encourage you to participate in the process of selecting our governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, auditor of public accounts, treasurer, and commissioner of agriculture.

It is never too early to make plans to serve as a poll worker. It takes about 15,000 poll workers to open all of our precincts. Whether you’re a Republican who prefers in-person voting to mail-in voting, or a Democrat who fears voter suppression, put your money where your mouth is and help us. To do so, contact us, or your county clerk.

Office of the Kentucky Secretary of State
700 Capital Ave., Ste. 152, Frankfort, KY 40601
(502) 564-3490