Plan to let deployed soldiers email ballots stalls

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - A legislative committee has rejected a proposal that would allow Kentucky soldiers deployed overseas to send election ballots back to the state via email or some other form of electronic transmission to ensure they arrive by Election Day.

The Senate Committee on Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection adopted an amendment Thursday removing that provision from a bill that now heads to the full Senate for consideration.

Senate President Robert Stivers asked for the amendment to protect the integrity of elections and the anonymity of voters after concerns were raised about the potential for hackers gaining access to the ballots.

Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, the state's chief election official, said she would have preferred that the provision remain in the bill.

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