Publication date: February 9, 2022
Written by: Stefani Buhajla
The Center for Excellence in Polling recently surveyed likely Kentucky voters on election integrity issues surrounding the recently passed HB 574. The provisions in this legislation have given voters greater confidence in how Kentucky elections are conducted.
Poll results, however, indicate there is opportunity for further reform as Kentucky voters strongly oppose private, out-of-state funding and federal interference in state elections.
Transparency gives Kentucky voters confidence in elections
Survey respondents were presented with current state election provisions and were asked to indicate whether that provision increases their confidence, decreases their confidence, or does not change their confidence level in Kentucky elections.
Poll results show that current state election provisions give voters greater confidence that their ballots are being cast and counted in a safe and secure process.
61%
…of all likely voters say timely removal of ineligible voters from the rolls increases their confidence in Kentucky elections.
74%
…have increased confidence knowing there will be vote tabulation audits after every election.
63%
…say that requiring voter ID with absentee ballots improves their confidence in Kentucky elections.
Absentee ballot security boosts voter confidence
Republicans (55%) and Democrats (50%) agree that requiring absentee ballot requests to be made through an online portal where voters are required to verify their identities increases their confidence in elections.
Election provisions that give certainty about where ballots go after they leave a voter’s hands draw considerable support from across the political spectrum. A majority of all voters say that requiring absentee ballots to be printed with barcodes for the purpose of tracking ballot locations increases their confidence (66% ), including almost the same percentage of Republicans (71%) and Democrats (68%), with Independents (55%) not far behind.
Kentucky voters support signature verification
Kentucky voters are united in their support for election measures that improve accuracy and ensure that every ballot is fairly counted. Verifying signatures and offering voters the opportunity to correct errors also dramatically increases voter confidence.
Knowing election officials are matching ballot signatures to voter registration records increases confidence for 67% of voters.
Voters favor protecting elections from outside influence
A majority of voters say they trust state and local officials more than the federal government to operate Kentucky elections (58%) and this includes more than half of all Independents (55%) and nearly half of all Democrats (40%).
78%
…of all likely voters, including more Democrats (82%) than Republicans (79%), oppose allowing government offices that oversee elections to accept funding from private individuals and special interest groups.
58%
…do not want the federal government running Kentucky’s elections.
The fact that Kentucky voters across the political spectrum are so united in protecting their state elections from outside influence presents a compelling opportunity for reform on this issue.