Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams found himself doing something that should never need doing: reminding his own residents that they cannot vote in the New York City mayoral race.
Tuesday marked Election Day in several states, with high-profile contests in New York, New Jersey, and Virginia. These races have drawn national attention as early signals of voter sentiment ahead of the 2026 midterms. Meanwhile, in Kentucky, confusion reigned.
Adams, a Republican, took to social media to clarify the obvious. “We’re getting calls about polls being closed. They are closed because we do not have elections today. Kentucky votes next year. You cannot vote today in Kentucky for the mayor of New York City or the Governor of Virginia. Sorry,” he wrote.
He followed up shortly after: “Have I mentioned my repeated call for civic education.”
The posts, shared from his verified X (formerly Twitter) account, went viral almost immediately. By early Tuesday afternoon, the initial post had been viewed more than 150,000 times. Now, the combined reach has reportedly exceeded 9 million views.
Social media users were quick to respond with disbelief. The group Republicans Against Trump asked: “How is this even real life.”
Commercial pilot Alex Cole did not mince words: “Kentucky has the dumbest of MAGAs.”
User @bible1_pam chimed in, attempting to connect the dots: “Now I understand how @SenMcConnell keeps getting reelected. 🤦♀️😀”
The post ignited a firestorm of reactions, with others piling on to mock the apparent lack of basic civic knowledge among some Kentucky voters:
