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Republican Candidate for Secretary of State

Renee Shaw hosts a conversation with Michael Adams, Republican candidate for Kentucky secretary of state.
Season 29 Episode 57 Length 15:00 Premiere: 05/08/23

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Kentucky Tonight

KET's Kentucky Tonight, hosted by Renee Shaw, brings together an expert panel for in-depth analysis on major issues facing the Commonwealth.

This weekly program features comprehensive discussions with lawmakers, stakeholders and policy leaders that are moderated by award-winning journalist Renee Shaw. Often aired live, viewers are encouraged to participate by submitting questions real-time via email, Twitter or KET’s online form.
For nearly three decades, Kentucky Tonight has been a source for complete and balanced coverage of the most urgent and important public affairs developments in the state of Kentucky.

Viewers with questions and comments may send e-mail to kytonight@ket.org or use the contact form. All messages should include first and last name and town or county. The phone number for viewer calls during the program is 1-800-494-7605.

After broadcast, Kentucky Tonight programs are available on KET.org and via podcast (iTunes or Android). Files are normally accessible within 24 hours after the television broadcast.

Kentucky Tonight was awarded a 1997 regional Emmy by the Ohio Valley Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The series was also honored with a 1995 regional Emmy nomination.

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Call 1-800-945-9167 or e-mail shop@ket.org.


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Renee Shaw is Moderator and Director of Public Affairs for Kentucky Educational Television, currently serving as host of KET’s Kentucky Tonight, Connections, election coverage, Legislative Update and KET Forums.

Since joining KET in 1997, Shaw has produced numerous KET public affairs series and specials, including KET’s nationally recognized legislative coverage. Under her leadership, KET has expanded its portfolio of public affairs content to include Kentucky Supreme Court coverage, town hall-style forums, and multi-platform program initiatives around issues such as opioid addiction and youth mental health.  

As an award-winning journalist, Shaw has earned top awards from the Ohio Valley Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, earning two regional Emmy awards, and an award from the Kentucky Associated Press for political coverage of the state legislature. She was inducted into the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame in 2017. She has been honored by the AKA Beta Gamma Omega Chapter with a Coretta Scott King Spirit of Ivy Award; earned the state media award from the Kentucky Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 2019; named a Charles W. Anderson Laureate by the Kentucky Personnel Cabinet in 2019 honoring her significant contributions in addressing socio-economic issues; earned the Anthony Lewis Media Award from the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy for her work on criminal justice reform in 2014; and, in 2015, received the Green Dot Award for her coverage of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking.  

In 2018, KET earned a national media award from Mental Health America for its multi-dimensional content on the opioid epidemic shepherded by Shaw. That same year, she co-produced and moderated a six-part series on youth mental health that was awarded first place in educational content by NETA, the National Educational Telecommunications Association. In 2019, Shaw was recognized by The Kentucky Gazette as one of the 50 most notable women in Kentucky politics and government. In addition, Renee was awarded the Charles W. Anderson Laureate Award by the Kentucky Personnel Cabinet which recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions in addressing socio-economic issues.

Host Renee Shaw smiling in a green dress with a KET set behind her.

Incumbent Seeking Reelection Discusses Expanding Voting, Election Security, and Other Issues

Kentucky Tonight hosted the third in a series of discussions about the 2023 primary elections as Renee Shaw spoke with Michael Adams, a Republican running for reelection as Secretary of State.

A McCracken County native, Adams is an attorney who specializes in election law. He has worked for the U.S. Department of Justice under President George W. Bush, Sen. Mitch McConnell, and former Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher. He was first elected Secretary of State for the commonwealth in 2019.

“You really can’t look at any other period in Kentucky history where we’ve accomplished so much on the election front as we have,” says Adams. “We’ve done more in three years than our predecessors did in two centuries.”

The Republican primary for Secretary of State also includes Stephen Knipper of Independence and Allen Maricle of Lebanon Junction. They did not meet KET’s criteria to participate in the program.

First-Term Accomplishments

During his first term, Adams says he has made it easier for Kentuckians to vote and harder to cheat in elections. In collaboration with the General Assembly, Adams quadrupled the number of days people can vote through early voting and made it easier to obtain absentee ballots. At the same time, he has culled some 150,000 deceased or ineligible individuals from the voting rolls and pushed a photo identification requirement for voting as well as a ban on ballot harvesting (where third parties collect and deliver absentee or mail-in ballots for voters). He also expanded audits of vote counts and transitioned to statewide use of paper ballots.

Despite claims by some individuals, Adams says Kentucky’s voting machines have never been connected to the internet. He adds that a new law makes it a felony to connect ballot scanners to the internet. But Adams says small-scale voter fraud does exist, pointing to the recent indictments of a candidate for constable in Monroe County and six accomplices for alleged vote buying. That candidate lost his election.

“It still happens, just like we have murder and robbery, and other crimes,” says Adams. “But we’re catching it.”

Adams says Joe Biden was legitimately elected president of the United States in 2020 and that allegations of large-scale manipulation of elections, such as Chinese hackers shifting of millions of votes to other candidates, are “crazy myths.” He says legitimate cases of voter fraud in that election have been prosecuted. Those cases, he explains, were not large enough to sway the election and occurred in states that have weaker voting rules than does Kentucky.

“The bottom line is our elections are more secure now than they’ve ever been,” Adams says. “But it doesn’t mean that we can take our guard down on preventing election fraud.”

Priorities for a Second Term

With 10 percent of registered voters in Kentucky listing themselves as independents, Adams says those individuals should be allowed to participate in the state’s primaries.

“I think it’s unfair that we ask taxpayers regardless of their party to pay for our elections but then we put up a wall and say you can’t vote,” he says.

In addition to being unfair, Adams says excluding independents can distort the outcomes of some elections. He says the far left or the far right tend to be more motivated to vote in primaries. By excluding independents, Adams contends an important voting bloc that could moderate the outcomes is not represented.

While he continues to endorse absentee voting by mail, Adams says he would not support internet voting even if it could be made secure. He says too many people already believe the internet is responsible for voting irregularities.

“I think it would hurt turnout if we did elections over the internet,” he says. “People wouldn’t trust them.”

Adams says he also wants to provide more polling places on election day. But that would require more poll workers, which have been harder to come by since the COVID-19 pandemic. Filing those positions with an equal number of Democrats and Republicans is the responsibility of county party organizations, and Adams says the state could threaten to withhold funding to those operations that fail to secure sufficient poll workers for their counties.

During the 2022 midterm elections, several counties reduced the number of polling places, resulting in long lines for voters. Adams says he protested those county voting plans, but the Kentucky Board of Elections overruled his objections. Now he says he wants the General Assembly to give the Secretary of State authority to compel counties to open more voting locations if needed.

Adams, who continues to practice election law for clients in other states, says he has been fair and nonpartisan in his official capacity as Kentucky’s Secretary of State. He says he is facing primary challengers because he is “decent person” who is willing to work with people of differing political beliefs.

“That’s a good thing,” says Adams. “If I pay a price for leadership that’s fine, but it’s the right thing to do and I think all Kentuckians are better off for it.”

Season 29 Episodes

Recapping The 2023 Kentucky Primary

S29 E59 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 05/22/23

2023 Primary Election Preview

S29 E58 Length 56:34 Premiere Date 05/15/23

Republican Candidate for Secretary of State

S29 E57 Length 15:00 Premiere Date 05/08/23

Republican Candidates for Governor

S29 E56 Length 1:29:20 Premiere Date 05/01/23

Candidates for Treasurer and Commissioner of Agriculture

S29 E55 Length 1:15:06 Premiere Date 04/24/23

Challenges Facing Kentucky Schools

S29 E54 Length 56:35 Premiere Date 04/17/23

Policy Analysts Recap the 2023 General Assembly

S29 E52 Length 56:34 Premiere Date 04/10/23

Recap of the 2023 Kentucky General Assembly

S29 E51 Length 56:35 Premiere Date 04/03/23

Kentucky Legislation on LGBTQ+ Youth

S29 E50 Length 56:35 Premiere Date 03/20/23

Student Discipline Legislation

S29 E49 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 03/13/23

Gambling Proposals in the Kentucky General Assembly

S29 E48 Length 56:34 Premiere Date 02/27/23

Kentucky's Teacher Shortage

S29 E47 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 02/20/23

Exploring Local Government Issues

S29 E46 Length 56:35 Premiere Date 02/13/23

Child Abuse and Neglect in Kentucky

S29 E45 Length 56:34 Premiere Date 02/06/23

Medical Marijuana Legalization in Kentucky

S29 E44 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 01/30/23

Kentucky's Juvenile Justice System

S29 E43 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 01/23/23

Legislation Introduced in the 2023 General Assembly

S29 E42 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 01/09/23

2023 Legislative Session Preview

S29 E41 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 12/19/22

National Politics

S29 E40 Length 56:34 Premiere Date 12/05/22

2022 Election Preview

S29 E39 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 11/07/22

Inflation and the Economy

S29 E38 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 10/31/22

Constitutional Amendments 1 & 2

S29 E37 Length 56:36 Premiere Date 10/24/22

Candidates for U.S. House of Representatives: Part Two

S29 E36 Length 56:35 Premiere Date 10/17/22

Candidates for U.S. House of Representatives: Part One

S29 E35 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 10/10/22

U.S. Senate Candidate Charles Booker

S29 E34 Length 26:31 Premiere Date 10/03/22

Discussing Flooding's Impact on Eastern Kentucky Schools

S29 E33 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 09/26/22

COVID-19, Monkeypox and Influenza

S29 E32 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 09/12/22

Eastern Kentucky Flooding and Legislative Relief Package

S29 E31 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 08/29/22

Child Care in Kentucky

S29 E30 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 08/22/22

School Safety: Debating State Policies

S29 E29 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 08/01/22

Work, Wages and Welfare

S29 E28 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 07/25/22

50 Years of Title IX

S29 E26 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 07/18/22

The Impact of U.S. Supreme Court Decisions

S29 E24 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 07/11/22

Kentucky's Ban on Abortion

S29 E23 Length 56:34 Premiere Date 06/27/22

Discussing New Developments in the COVID-19 Pandemic

S29 E22 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 06/20/22

Reducing Opioid Addiction Rates in Kentucky

S29 E21 Length 56:36 Premiere Date 06/13/22

Mass Shootings and Gun Laws

S29 E20 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 06/06/22

Discussing the Rise in Gas Prices and Inflation

S29 E19 Length 56:34 Premiere Date 05/23/22

Previewing Kentucky's 2022 Primary Election

S29 E18 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 05/16/22

Third Congressional District Democratic Primary

S29 E17 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 05/09/22

Candidates in the 2022 Primary Election: Part Two

S29 E16 Length 58:33 Premiere Date 05/02/22

Candidates in the 2022 Primary Election: Part One

S29 E15 Length 58:40 Premiere Date 04/25/22

Lawmakers Review the 2022 General Assembly

S29 E14 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 04/18/22

Recap of the 2022 Legislative Session

S29 E13 Length 56:35 Premiere Date 04/11/22

Public Assistance and Jobless Benefits

S29 E12 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 03/28/22

Abortion Legislation in the 2022 General Assembly

S29 E11 Length 56:34 Premiere Date 03/21/22

State Budget, Taxes, and Other 2022 General Assembly Topics

S29 E10 Length 57:42 Premiere Date 03/14/22

Critical Race Theory and Approaches to Teaching History

S29 E9 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 02/28/22

2022 Legislative Session at the Midpoint

S29 E8 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 02/21/22

Name, Image and Likeness Compensation

S29 E7 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 02/14/22

Child Abuse and Neglect

S29 E6 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 02/07/22

Debating School Choice in Kentucky

S29 E5 Length 56:35 Premiere Date 02/01/22

Debating Provisions in the Proposed State Budget

S29 E4 Length 56:34 Premiere Date 01/24/22

Redistricting, State Budget, and Other Legislative Issues

S29 E3 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 01/10/22

Discussing Legislative Goals for the 2022 General Assembly

S29 E2 Length 56:33 Premiere Date 01/03/22

Previewing the 2022 Kentucky General Assembly

S29 E1 Length 56:35 Premiere Date 12/06/21

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