Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes has announced the creation of Kentucky’s secure online Military and Overseas Voting Portal.
“Over the past eight years, we’ve made it easier for Kentuckians to register and vote, making strides in every aspect of Kentucky’s election process,” said Grimes. “Today, I’m excited to announce that we will no longer need to rely on a third-party vendor to serve our military and overseas voters but will now have an in-house system with improved functionality.”
Upon Grimes’ return from assessing military voting in the Middle East, the Commonwealth passed Kentucky’s first-ever Military Hero’s Voting Bill in 2013. This legislation provided, among other things, for secure online ballot delivery for our military and overseas voters.
“Since 2014, over 11,000 Kentucky military and overseas voters have had their voice heard from the battlefield back at the ballot box due to our outreach. Today’s announcement ensures this will continue regardless of the availability of federal grant dollars,” Grimes said.
In 2013, Grimes received the largest state grant award ($2.2. million dollars) from the Federal Voting Assistance Program to implement its secure online portal. To date, the Commonwealth has utilized the services of SOE Software to reach and process its military and overseas voters.
“This is tremendous work product which provides the necessary services our military and overseas voters need while improving the functionality. Tremendous thanks goes to the hardworking staff of the Secretary of State’s office who made this a reality,” said Grimes.
To ensure continuity of service and the administration of the elections, Grimes will recommend Secretary-Elect Michael Adams deploy the updated portal after the Presidential Election in 2021.
From Office of the Secretary of State
