More Election News Re: Online Resources For Voters.

COMMONWEALTHOF KENTUCKY
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OFSTATE
TREY GRAYSON

NEWS RELEASE

RE: Online Resources Available for Voters
DATE: October 20, 2010
CONTACT: Les Fugate, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
Office of the Secretary of State
Office: (502) 564-3490
Cell: (502) 229-3803
Les.Fugate@ky.gov

(Frankfort, KY) Kentuckians have access to multiple online services which will allow voters to prepare for the upcoming general election. Citizens can view sample ballots online, check their voter registration, and obtain driving directions to their polling location – all by visiting the Vote Kentucky! online presence created by the Office of the Secretary of State, with support from the Kentucky State Board of Elections, at: www.vote.ky.gov.

“Information about the voting process should be as accessible as possible,” stated Secretary of State Trey Grayson. “This allows citizens to better educate themselves about the candidates and initiatives for which they will be voting on Election Day and have access to pertinent voting information for the elections process.”

The Office of the Secretary of State worked with County Clerks across the Commonwealth as well as with election services providers, Harp Enterprises and Kentuckiana Election Services, to place as many ballots on the internet as possible. All of Kentucky counties’ sample ballots are now available online.

The Office of the Secretary of State also offers a candidate database where voters can view information about candidates that file with the Office of the Secretary of State. Many of those candidates have their photos, email addresses, and links to their campaign websites available via this online tool.

Kentuckians who do not know where they are supposed to vote can find their voter information via the State Board of Elections website’s Voter Information Center (VIC). The Voter Information Center can provide information on a particular registered voter’s polling location, party registration, and driving directions from the registered address to the polling location. The service can now be accessed from many mobile devices.

“It is particularly important for voters to verify the address of their polling location due to polling locations changing every election cycle,” noted Grayson. “Checking this information before Election Day can reduce confusion before a citizen heads to the polls.”

Other elections services that Kentuckians can find online include the Election Night Results system, where citizens can access up to the minute unofficial results of the election, as well as general information about the election process in Kentucky.

The Vote Kentucky! site is in response to the National Campaign for Political and Civic Engagement’s report entitled: Navigating the Vote: A Review of How State Voter Education Websites Address the Needs of Young Voters. The report examined how information is provided to voters via voter information websites. The authors of the report previously reviewed Kentucky’s site to ensure that it reached audiences in the way that the report recommends.

Citizens can access the Office of the Secretary of State’s Vote Kentucky! website at www.vote.ky.gov. That site also contains a link to the Office of the Secretary of State’s website, www.sos.ky.gov, State Board of Elections website, www.elect.ky.gov, and the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance website, www.kref.ky.gov, where other election information is located.