The Kentucky Democratic Party (KDP) today sued the State Board of Election (SBE) over moving 175,000 voters off the active voter rolls and onto an “inactive voters” list.
The lawsuit, filed in Franklin Circuit Court, alleges the following bases for injunctive relief:
- SBE has illegally burdened core Constitutional rights.
- SBE has avoided the normal rule making process for administrative regulations.
- SBE staff has acted ultra vires without consent from the State Board of Elections.
- SBE staff continues to change and modify rules under which elections will be administered. It is not clear what rules govern this election.
- SBE has provided different explanations of the rules to different political parties and left many interested parties without any information at all.
- SBE’s failure to provide clear rules denies third parties their statutory rights to observe elections and ensure fair administration.
- SBE’s failure to provide clear rules guarantees disparate and unfair treatment of voters across the state.
- SBE acted at all times relevant hereto without formal written approval from the Board of
Directors of the Agency.
One of the major points of the lawsuit is that state law says a voter may only be put on an “inactive voters” list after they have failed to vote in two consecutive Federal elections, AFTER the date the second “are you still at this address” postcard has been sent. Since that process was begun in 2018, the use of an inactive list could be be started until after at least the 2020 election (and possibly the 2022 election, depending on when the postcards were actually sent).
Also noted in the lawsuit is that this process was put in place by the staff of the Board of Elections, and was never formally approved by the Board itself.
And finally, the lawsuit calls attention to the burden of requiring 175,000 voters to sign an Oath of Voter card, completely re-register, make a call to the local County Clerk (and get through) for instructions, and then sign a supplemental paper register – all while waiting to vote.
[custom-related-posts title=”Related Posts” none_text=”None found” order_by=”title” order=”ASC”]
In a press release, Anna Whites, lawyer for the KDP, stated “The State Board of Elections (SBE’s) actions undermine the integrity of the electoral process. Activists predict long lines and disruptions to voter rights when valid and registered voters who find themselves on the segregated “inactive voter” list have to call the county clerk or appear before the county board of elections and fill out an Oath of Voter card before they can cast a ballot.”
Ben Self, chair of the KDP, said “After weeks of conversations with the State Board of Elections staff that raised more questions than it provided answers, we determined that we had no choice but to file this lawsuit in order to protect Kentucky voters from facing unfair burdens at the polls. Our hope is that this will be resolved quickly and that voters can be confident heading into Election Day.”
The office of Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes released this statement:
Secretary Grimes continues her vote of no confidence in the Kentucky State Board of Elections and the chaos that currently exists.
Secretary Grimes joins the effort in urging the Court to move swiftly to protect 175,000 Kentucky voters whose registration records have been unlawfully and inaccurately altered. During Secretary Grimes’ tenure over 600,000 voters have been lawfully removed from the voter rolls and it was always done through respecting the rights of the voter, the law and with the approval of the State Board of Elections.
None of these elements have been met in the State Board of Elections staff’s recent rash decision to create an inactive list.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the KDP by Anna and Pierce Whites of Frankfort. They note that voters and county officials who want to join the case are welcome.
All publicly-available documents related to the lawsuit, including the suit filing itself, can be found at this location on Forward Kentucky.
–30–