Five Things to Know Today
— Publisher’s Note —
Good morning! The election plan by Secretary of State Michael Adams has been more or less released via interview, and we know that it recommends against no-excuse absentee voting, but for expanded early in-person voting. (Story here.)
Adams’s rationale is that turnout for a general election is so much greater than a primary that doing most of it through absentee voting would overwhelm the system, from the mail to the county clerks.
I want to see the actual document, and also see what Governor Beshear does in response – but frankly, given the uncertain nature of the postal service right now, I suspect I’m going to wind up agreeing with the SOS.
In a perfect world, we would have full mail-in voting, like some other states have been doing successfully for years. And in a perfect world, we would not have a president that appears to be doing everything he can to steal the election.
But, this is the situation we’ve got, so the key goal has to be having everyone vote, and every vote count. And I worry that getting the ballots out to the people, and getting them back in, and getting them counted, may prove to be almost impossible.
No matter how you feel about the above, one thing you can do to help ensure everyone can vote is volunteer to be a poll worker. There is a new portal to volunteer at GoVoteKY.com and it only takes a minute. I volunteered yesterday as soon as I heard about it, and you should too. We need hundreds of new poll workers across the state, so now’s the time to step up. It’s another way we’re going to get through this, together. #TeamKentucky
Bruce Maples, publisher
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Today’s Five Things to Know
8/11 update – Beshear had COVID-19 symptoms, but tested negative; felt empathy as he waited for results
Gov. Andy Beshear reported 562 new coronavirus cases in Kentucky on Tuesday, but most of his remarks dealt with cases that didn’t happen, in his own household. (Forward Kentucky)
Related: Beshear negative for COVID, but received scare – Gov. Beshear had to postpone two press conferences on Tuesday due to illness. Later, he confirmed he had been tested for COVID-19 but was negative for the virus. (Forward Kentucky)
Adams: Less absentee voting, more early voting, more polling locations
Universal mail-in absentee balloting is not part of the plan Republican Secretary of State Adams is presenting to Democratic Gov. Beshear for the fall election. Expanded early voting is, however. (Forward Kentucky)
McConnell doesn’t care to hear message from Kentucky: ‘I’m scared to death of losing everything’
Mitch McConnell is glad to hear from his donors – but is deaf when it comes to the cries of Kentuckians. The Washington Post interviewed people all across the state, and they all said “Where is Mitch when we need him?” (Forward Kentucky)
Mitch McConnell supports Trump’s coronavirus executive orders. Rand Paul isn’t so sure
Kentucky’s two U.S. senators are strong Trump supporters but had different perspectives on the COVID-19 executive orders signed over the weekend. (Courier-Journal)
Louisville voters to decide on JCPS tax increase after petition collects enough signatures
A petition to put a tax increase for local schools on the November ballot has enough valid signatures to force a vote, officials said Monday. (Courier-Journal)
Recent Content on Forward Kentucky
[new] indicates item not in a Forward Five before
[new] Running the Trump Gauntlet – The president of the United States is an authoritarian-minded demagogue who is systematically dismantling our norms, our rule of law, and our very democracy. The United States is running the Trump Gauntlet. (Commentary)
[new] Back to school with Grandma – When the president says children can’t get sick from the coronavirus, what could that lead to? Nick Anderson lays out a scenario that could happen all across Kentucky. (Cartoon)
Atlanta visits Breonna Square – a photo gallery – On Saturday, August 7, visitors from Atlanta came to Louisville to rally with our citizens at Breonna Square in downtown Louisville. Del Ramey was there and captured these photos, then later captioned them for us. Enjoy! (Media)
8/10 update — Beshear recommends no in-person instruction in schools until Sept. 28 – Saying it’s unsafe to have children in classes at the peak of a pandemic, Gov. Andy Beshear recommended Monday that Kentucky schools wait until Sept. 28 to start in-person instruction. (News)
Cuomo, Beshear say Trump’s order with unemployment won’t work – Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo both say President Trump’s executive order requiring the states to pay 25 percent of an unemployment supplement of $400 per week is unworkable. (News)
State receipts surprisingly strong in first month of fiscal year – State officials reported Monday that revenue for July, the first month of the 2021 fiscal year, were surprisingly strong, given the slowdown in consumer spending arising from the uncertainty of the novel coronavirus. (News)
Yarmuth issues statement on Trump exec orders, announces legislation – In response to President Trump’s one executive order and three memoranda, Congressman John Yarmuth (D-KY03) released a statement, and also introduced legislation related to Congress’s authority when it comes to appropriations. (News)
Thomas Massie and The Swamp – Thomas Massie says he isn’t part of The Swamp in Washington. But is that correct? Christina Conover takes a look at Massie’s claim. (Commentary)
How to build a “new normal” that is truly new – To have a “new normal” that is truly new, there are four things we must restore in this country. And a fifth that underlies them all. Ken Wolf lays them out for us. (Commentary)
State Board of Elections ignores open government laws with election “task force” – The State Board of Elections never even considered that the formation of a “work group” to make recommendations for the general election triggered the requirements of the open meetings and open records laws. (Commentary)
The Incompetent Fascist: Trump’s ‘executive orders’ do the wrong things, illegally – Here’s an analysis of the four Trump executive orders (only one of which is actually an executive order) and what they REALLY do – none of which is what we actually NEED. (News Analysis)
