FRANKFORT — In the wake of presidential vote recounts in Florida, Kentucky could be one of the first states to tackle election reform through a series of proposals unveiled Thursday.

        Secretary of State John Y. Brown III released a 10-point plan he said will improve elections in Kentucky.

        “In response to public demand and following guidelines set forth by the U.S. Supreme
Court, Kentucky — like every other state — must rectify deficiencies in this election process,” Mr. Brown said Thursday.

        Ohio is another one of the handful of states that have begun to work on reforming the election process.
       

Computerized voting

        Some of the Kentucky proposals will require legislative action, Mr. Brown said, including spending money on computerized voting machines, giving recognition to third-party voters and candidates, and reforming absentee voting.

        He will take the recommendations to lawmakers for consideration in the 2001 and 2002 General Assembly sessions.

        “Real election- and voting-reform legislation finally have a realistic chance to be approved by lawmakers in the wake of problems publicly uncovered in the 2000 presidential elections,” Mr. Brown said.

        “If taxpayer dollars must be spent this legislative session, investing in the integrity of our state's system of elections to ensure every vote counts is an investment we can't afford not to make,” he said.

        “It's an investment in democracy.”

        After watching the protracted vote recount and legal wrangling over the presidential election results in Florida, other states are also pondering changes and updates in election law.

        Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell has set up a panel of elections experts, legal scholars and lawmakers to come up with a list of reforms. The group will begin work this February.

        In California, the secretary of state has asked the state legislature to earmark millions of dollars to improve polling technology, including a $230 million “democracy fund” counties can draw on to buy better voting devices and software.
       

Not first call for change

        In Kentucky, Campbell County Clerk Jack Snodgrass reviewed Mr. Brown's proposals Thursday.

        “It looks great on paper,” Mr. Snodgrass said.

        “I just don't know how much is going to get implemented. Some of these things, the (state) county clerks' association have been trying to change for years.

        “In the past, a lot of it has fallen on deaf ears.”

        Mr. Brown said he would like to see the entire state shift to the type of computerized voting machines used in Campbell County and elsewhere in Northern Kentucky.

        Many counties are still using lever machines instead of electronic machines.

        Replacing the machines could cost up to $5 million, with funds coming from the state and federal governments, Mr. Brown said.

        Mr. Snodgrass said that while Campbell County does have computerized machines, more are needed.

        But convincing the county fiscal court to purchase more isn't easy, he said.

        “I've got a request in right now for 15 more, but that's a tough item to get through,” Mr. Snodgrass said.

        “They cost about $5,000 each, and it's tough to spend that much money for something that is used twice a year.”

        Mr. Snodgrass agrees with Mr. Brown's proposal to increase the pay of campaign workers, who in Campbell County make $95 for working 13 hours on primary and general election days.

        Other recommendations from Mr. Brown include:

        • Improving reporting of election night results.

        • Reforming absentee ballot voting laws.

        • Improving voter outreach and education, especially in schools.

        • Clarifying ambiguous election laws.

        • Drafting a uniform ballot.

        • Ensuring the integrity of voter registration rolls.

        Neither Mr. Snodgrass nor Mr. Brown supports a bill in the Gen eral Assembly that would keep polls open two additional hours, until 8 p.m.

        Under the bill polls would still open at 6 a.m.

        “We have a hard enough time finding people willing to work the polls for 13 hours as it is,” Mr. Snodgrass said.

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