Kentucky
WKYT Investigates | How secure are Kentucky’s elections?
KENTUCKY (WKYT) – Election day is about three weeks away, and millions of Americans will vote for their next president and even make choices about who will lead their local communities.
In our 2024 Campaign Topics and Issues Survey, one of Kentucky voters’ top concerns was election integrity.
We caught up with Secretary of State Michael Adams and asked him point blank: Have we in Kentucky ever had a breach of our system or compromised voter integrity?
“No, we’ve never had a breach of any of our systems, and I won’t sugarcoat it; other states have had breaches, but we have not,” Secretary Adams said. “We have a very hardened infrastructure. There has been no breach of our voter registration.”
Adams says he is somewhat concerned with artificial intelligence and its power to spread misinformation, but in the Bluegrass, people can cast a ballot with confidence.
“This is very important; there is no way to breach the voting because the voting isn’t done through the internet,” Adams said. “There’s no way they can log on or hack in and get in to a piece of paper and pen. You can’t do it. All of these ballot scanners we use at the polls don’t connect to the internet. They don’t have modems. They don’t have any way to be hacked.
Over the summer, the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office says they experienced a ransomware attack that shut down several offices for a few days.
The incident is still under investigation, but Adams believes they have additional measures in place to provide peace of mind.
“We have other controls too, such as we’re going to do an audit after the election to make sure the machine count matches the hand count.,” said Adams.
While the last presidential election cycle was heavily scrutinized, Secretary Adams was assured of the outcome.
“Even the states that were breached in 2016 by foreign rogue nations, nothing got changed,” said Adams. “The votes were not accessed. Registration records were accessed, but they weren’t changed. That was foreign nations showing off their ability to get in, but they didn’t actually impact the election.
You might also notice an increased presence of law enforcement at your precinct. That is to protect both the voter and the poll workers.
Copyright 2024 WKYT. All rights reserved.
Kentucky
Kentucky is poised to land either Donnie Freeman or Sebastian Rancik this weekend, per report
Jones posted on Twitter that “Kentucky will have (absent a major change) either Freeman or Rancik by tomorrow,” while also noting the Wildcats still need to add another shooter and another big to round out the roster.
One of the top targets is Donnie Freeman, a 6-foot-9, 205-pound sophomore forward transferring from Syracuse. Freeman arrived in Lexington on Tuesday night and began his visit on Wednesday before leaving without a commitment. While there was concern he could land at UConn, that visit has since been canceled, leaving Kentucky and St. John’s as the top teams.
Freeman averaged 16.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game last season, while adding nearly a block and a steal per contest. He shot 47.4% from the field but 30.2% from 3-point range across 23 games.
The other option is Sebastian Rancik, a 6-foot-11, 220-pound sophomore forward transferring from Colorado. Rancik visited Kentucky starting Wednesday through Thursday and brings a versatile skill set, averaging 12.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2 assists per game while shooting 33.1% from 3.
Either Freeman or Rancik would provide a significant boost at the power forward position for head coach Mark Pope. Kentucky has already added guards Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins in the portal.
Kentucky football coach Will Stein reflects on new position
Will Stein was officially introduced to fans and media as the head coach for the Kentucky Wildcats, replacing Mark Stoops.
LEXINGTON — Kentucky football had its first spring game under new coach Will Stein at Kroger Field on Saturday.
The offense, in blue jerseys, had its moments. So too the defense, donning white uniforms.
Ultimately, the blue squad earned a 23-18 victory in a game called just after noon because of inclement weather.
Stein admitted he “got emotional” as he charged onto the field prior to kickoff.
“I know it wasn’t a real game, but when I ran on the field, I definitely — man, I felt it,” he said. “It was like a wave running over me. And very, very, just cool.”
While it doesn’t count in the standings, Stein walked away pleased.
“I think we got a lot of really good work,” he said. “That’s the goal of spring is to improve with fundamentals and technique, learn how to practice, learn what winning edges that we need throughout spring to go into summer and fall and prepare the team for play. And we came out of the scrimmage clean. There (were) no injuries, which to me, that’s the biggest win of the day. I could (not) care less about the score.
“If we come out clean, that’s good. The Wildcats won.”
New starting QB Kenny Minchey looked about as expected, with sharp passes evened out by moments of inconsistency. Martels Carter Jr., a defensive back who is lining up at running back this spring, scored a touchdown and had several nice runs.
And the defense forced multiple three-and-outs and also picked off one Minchey pass on a two-point conversion.
This story will be updated.
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
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