Frankfort, KY (July 14, 2020) – Almost 20,000 unique flyers were given to elderly and disabled populations in rural Kentucky counties in the weeks before the June 23 primary, offering instructions on how to vote in the unusual election.
“Through regular press briefings, we were able to reach voters in the Golden Triangle, but we found that in rural areas outside the big media markets, voter information was lacking,” said Secretary of State Michael Adams. “After offering voters several options to safely vote, we wanted to help voters learn about and take advantage of them. So we took action.”
Adams’ outreach director, Ed West, handed out thousands of informational flyers to area development districts around the state. The districts distributed the flyers – through the “Meals on Wheels” program, for example. Shut-in voters received the informational flyers with their boxed meals.
“I grew up in McCracken County and I know how Frankfort often ignores citizens in outer regions of the state, particularly Western Kentucky,” Adams said. “I thought about my widowed grandmother, who lives by herself in Livingston County, and asked myself: how could we reach people like her so they aren’t disenfranchised?”
Joanna Shake, the Executive Director of Green River Area Development District in Western Kentucky said, “There was a lot of confusion and worry about how to vote in the primary for much of our population. So being able to hand out easy-to-understand guidelines for the election was a blessing.”
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