Kentucky Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams, who worked to expand early voting in the Bluegrass State and spoke out against voter denialism within his own party, was chosen to receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award this year.
In its announcement Monday, the JFK Library Foundation said Adams was recognized “for expanding voting rights and defending free and fair elections despite party opposition and death threats from election deniers.”
Adams — whose main policy goal is to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat — was at the forefront of a bipartisan effort with the Democratic governor. Andy Beshear which led to the promulgation of 2021 legislation allowing three days of no-excuse in-person early voting – including a Saturday – before Election Day. Adams hailed it as the most significant update to Kentucky’s election law in more than a century. About a fifth of Kentuckians who voted in last year’s statewide elections did so during those three days of in-person early voting, Adams’ office said Monday.
As his state’s chief elections officer, Adams forcefully opposed false claims about rigged elections, calling election skeptics “far-fetched and crazy.”
“There’s a lot of irresponsible chatter and grandstanding that we hacked the election,” Adams said in a 2022 interview on Spectrum News 1. “It’s all rubbish. Our elections have never been hacked and are not now.”
First elected in 2019, Adams was re-elected by a wide margin last year after dominating his party’s primarywhich included a challenger who promoted debunked election claims.
Adams, a Kentucky native and Harvard Law School graduate, said Monday that Kennedy’s “admonition to put country before self still resonates today and rings true more than ever.”
“I am honored to accept this award on behalf of election officials and poll workers across America who, inspired by his call, are sacrificing to keep the American experiment in self-government alive,” he said. he adds.
Adams is part of an effort began after the last presidential election that seeks to bring together Republican officials ready to defend the nation’s election systems and the people who run them. They want officials to reinforce the message that the elections are secure and accurate, which they say is especially important as the country heads toward another divisive presidential election in November.
“It’s an obligation on the part of Republicans to defend our system because our party — there is some responsibility for our current situation,” Adams said recently. “But it also makes strategic sense for Republicans to say, ‘Hey, Republicans, you can trust this.’ Don’t stay at home.
At a recent campaign rally, former President Donald Trump — the presumptive Republican nominee for president this year — reiterated his false claim that Democrats rigged the 2020 election.
Only 22% of Republicans…
