The Kentucky Secretary of State’s office is using a creative tactic to recruit election workers ahead of the November General Election.
Secretary Michael Adams is partnering with the Kentucky Guild of Brewers, Kentucky Wineries Association, and the Kentucky Restaurant Association to promote poll worker recruitment. The campaign will enlist several breweries, restaurants and wineries to hang tags and display table tents that provide volunteer info and Q-R codes where individuals can apply to become poll workers.
Secretary Adams said finding enough volunteers has been a longstanding problem, but he thinks the campaign will help.
“We’ve had two practical challenges and one of those is having enough places to vote and enough people to man that location,” Adams said. “Just those evergreen problems really. Having enough people and enough locations, those are the everyday problems that we face and I’m glad we are getting back to normal problems that we can deal with.”
This isn't the first time the secretary’s office has gotten creative to find election volunteers. In 2020, the Secretary’s office partnered with several breweries to print QR codes on beer cans to raise awareness about the need for election workers. In 2022, Adams partnered with the Kentucky Guild of Brews and Kentucky Wineries Association. This year the Secretary’s office has partnered with the Kentucky Restaurant Association as well.
Secretary Adams says recruiting enough volunteers to work on election day has been an ongoing obstacle for several election cycles.
“It was a problem before I took office, it was a problem before Covid,” Adams said. “It’s worse now. Covid didn’t help anything and one of the things that made it harder was getting people to volunteer so we do have a robust enough of voting locations but realistically I think this is about as best as we can do.”
Participating breweries so far are:
- Against the Grain, 401 E. Main Street, Louisville, KY 40202
- Butchertown Brewery, 1860 Mellwood Ave #187, Louisville, KY 40206
- Dreaming Creek Brewery, 109 E. Irvine Street, Richmond, KY 40475
- Trellis Brewery, 827 Logan Street, Louisville, KY 40204
- White Squirrel Brewery, 302 State Street, Bowling Green, KY 42101
- Wise Bird Cider Co., 1170 Manchester Street, Suite 140, Lexington, KY 40508
Participating wineries so far are:
- Boucherie Winery, 6523 Keyway Drive, Spottsville, KY 42458
- Carriage House Vineyards, 259 Longview Lane, Auburn, KY 42206
- Ghost Fox Winery, 2385 Chrisman Mill Rd, Nicholasville, KY 40356
Participating restaurants so far are:
- Ciao Restaurant, 1201 Payne Street, Louisville, KY 40204
- Ramsey’s Diners, all Lexington locations
