Kentucky: GOP rule change allows Paul to run for Senate amid his White House bid | The Washington Post

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) avoided a major headache Saturday after the Kentucky Republican Party approved a rule change that will allow him to run for president while seeking reelection to his Senate seat. “I applaud the Republican Party of Kentucky on their decision to hold a caucus in the upcoming Republican presidential cycle,” Paul said in a statement. “The people of Kentucky deserve a voice as the GOP chooses their next nominee, and holding a caucus will ensure that Kentucky is relevant and participates early in the process.” State law in Kentucky bars a person from appearing on an election ballot as a candidate for two different offices. So if Kentucky Republicans were to choose their nominees for president and Senate in a primary election, Paul could not run for both. By approving a caucus to select a presidential nominee, the Republican Party has cleared the way for him.

Kentucky: Rand Paul Purchases a Path Around an Inconvenient Kentucky Law | The Atlantic

Rand Paul is giving new meaning to the term “buying an election.” Over the weekend, the Kentucky senator said he gave $250,000 to his state’s Republican Party for the explicit purpose of funding its presidential caucus in March. He promised to pony up another $200,000 in the fall, enough to cover the entire cost of the nominating event. Put another way: Paul is paying the party to hold an election in which he is running. He’s doing it neither to ensure a victory nor out of the simple goodness of his heart. No, Paul is making a rather blatant end-run around state law, and he’s compensating the Kentucky GOP for going along with him. The law forbids someone from appearing on the same ballot as a candidate for two different offices, and Paul, who is up for reelection next year, doesn’t want to give up his Senate seat to make his rather long-shot bid for the presidency.

Kentucky: Online Voter Registration Could Be Coming to Kentucky | WKMS

If a legislative committee signs off on a new regulation later this month, Kentuckians will soon be able to register to vote online. Twenty-one states allow voters to register online, which Democratic Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes has advocated for during her tenure. Kentucky already allows members of the military and overseas voters to register on the web. In a statement, Grimes said that program has been a “tremendous success,” and she hopes expanding online registration to all Kentuckians would lead to greater participation.

Kentucky: Legislative panel approves regulations allowing online voter registration | Lexington Herald-Leader

Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes’ efforts to allow online voter registration in Kentucky kept moving through the legislative process Tuesday, though one lawmaker tried to derail it. State Sen. Ernie Harris, R-Crestwood, tried to get his colleagues on the legislature’s Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee to declare deficient a new state regulation allowing online voter registration. But his request died on a 4-3 vote on the regulation, proposed by the Kentucky State Board of Elections. The legislature’s State Government Committee will review the regulation at its next meeting in a few weeks. If that panel signs off on it, the regulation would take effect in several months.

Kentucky: What Actually Happens During a Kentucky Recanvassing? | Election Law

County Clerks offices around Kentucky will be busy Thursday morning as they re-tally the votes in not just one, but two Republican primary races. (In addition to recanvassing the 83-vote margin between gubernatorial hopefuls Matt Bevin and James Comer, Republican Richard Heath has asked for a recanvass of his 1,427 vote loss to Ryan Quarles for state agriculture commissioner.) But what will the County Clerks offices actually be doing on Thursday at 9:00 am when they recanvass these races? It is fairly simple, and it depends on the kind of vote counting system each county uses. The recanvass essentially mimics the counting process from election night.

Kentucky: Republican Gubernatorial Primary Goes Into Extra Innings: What Happens Next? | Election Law

83 votes. That’s all that separates Kentucky GOP gubernatorial hopefuls Matt Bevin and James Comer. What has already been an ugly campaign is about to become even uglier. Kentucky has three levels of post-election procedures: a recanvass, a recount, and an election contest. Comer, who is currently down in the vote count, has already indicated that he plans to invoke the first process and seek a recanvass; it is unclear if he will go further with a recount or election contest. Under Kentucky law, a candidate has a week from Election Day to file a request for recanvassing with the Secretary of State. Comer announced last night that he will file his request this morning. The recanvassing will occur on Thursday, May 28, during which county election boards will recheck each machine and report the figure back to the county clerk.

Kentucky: Board of Elections sues software company, county clerks | WDRB

Some of the votes for Tuesday’s primary may not be counted until June because of a lawsuit filed Monday by the Kentucky State Board of Elections. A Jefferson Circuit Court judge has agreed to enter a restraining order directing nine county clerks to certify votes from a dozen military and overseas voters who failed to receive their absentee ballots on time. The Kentucky State Board of Elections and Secretary of State Allison Lundergran Grimes filed a lawsuit Monday against the software company that sends out absentee ballots and the clerks in nine counties, including Jefferson, alleging 12 qualified military and overseas voters were not sent ballots on time.

Kentucky: Regulation issued prohibiting electioneering | The Ledger Independent

Electioneering during next week’s primary election will not be allowed within 100 feet of Kentucky polling locations. That was the message delivered by Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes on Friday. In her capacity as the state’s Chief Election Official, Grimes issued a notice to the public the State Board of Elections has approved and filed an emergency administrative regulation prohibiting electioneering within 100 feet of the entrance to a polling place on Election Day. The emergency administrative regulation, which is effective immediately, does not apply to private property.

Kentucky: State prohibits electioneering with 100 feet of polls after court strikes down 300-foot ban | Lexington Herald-Leader

Kentucky has taken steps to prohibit electioneering on public property within 100 feet of polling places for the May 19 primary election. The State Board of Elections approved the emergency administrative regulation authorized by Gov. Steve Beshear at a meeting Tuesday. The regulation comes in the wake of an April 28 ruling by the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that a Kentucky law prohibiting electioneering within 300 feet of a polling place was unconstitutional.

Kentucky: Appeals court: electioneering law unconstitutional | Cincinnati.com

A federal appeals court agreed with a lower court’s ruling that Kentucky’s electioneering laws banning campaign signs within 300 feet of a polling place was unconstitutional. The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld the last year’s federal district court’s ruling. The case was sparked by a Northern Kentucky business that displayed election signs on private property near a polling place. U.S. District Court Judge William Bertelsman in an October 2014 ruling found Kentucky’s electioneering sign law too broad. The law banned signs on public and private property within 300 feet of polling location. Kentucky’s attorney general and secretary of state appealed the ruling.

Kentucky: State’s Rand Paul caucus problem | The Hill

Trying to assist the presidential aspirations of Sen. Rand Paul, (R-Ky.), the Kentucky GOP has taken a bold move. Under current law, Paul could not run for both reelection and the Republican presidential nomination. In order to create a work-around to this problem, the state party has made a one-time only move from a primary to a caucus system. This innovative approach is troubling on a number of levels, but the biggest one is clearly that the state GOP would be promoting the confusing and relatively undemocratic caucus system. Paul isn’t the first candidate to face this particular problem. Numerous states ban candidates from seeking two offices at once. In 1960, Texas changed its law to help Lyndon Johnson (D) run for both the Senate and the presidency at one time, a change that helped Lloyd Bentsen (D) when he ran for the VP position in 1988. There have been other recent attempts to change these laws, including in Indiana for Gov. Mike Pence (R) and even in Arkansas for newly elected Sen. Tom Cotton (R). Some states have no barriers to seeking two offices at once, and candidates have taken advantage of these rules on the VP level – notably Joe Lieberman (D) in 2000 in Connecticut, and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) in 2012. Both lost their races, as did Bentsen, but kept their seats in Congress.

Kentucky: What a Kentucky Presidential Caucus Would Mean For Overseas Voters | WKU

A voting rights advocate says a potential Republican Party presidential caucus in Kentucky next year would need to include specific rules to protect overseas voters’ rights. This month, state GOP leaders gave preliminary approval to conducting a presidential caucus in 2016 instead of the usual primary. The change was requested by Sen. Rand Paul—a likely 2016 presidential candidate—to get around a state law banning candidates from appearing twice on a ballot.

Kentucky: At Rand Paul’s request, Republican committee gives green light to caucus | Lexington Herald-Leader

It looks increasingly like Kentucky Republicans will have a presidential caucus next year, when it seems just as likely that a Kentucky Republican will be running for president. While most of the state was focused on the Kentucky Wildcats’ quest for a perfect season Saturday, about 50 members of the Republican Party of Kentucky’s executive committee met behind closed doors for about two hours, listening to Paul and his staff make their case for a presidential caucus.

Kentucky: House passes Secretary Grimes’ elections initiatives | Floyd County Times

On Monday, the Kentucky House of Representatives passed legislation based on Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes’ recommendations to modernize voter registration in Kentucky. House Bill 214, a bill to allow voters to register to vote and update their voter registration electronically, passed 92-3. House Bill 212, which would allow in-person absentee voting on the basis of age, disability or illness, previously passed unanimously. Both bills are sponsored by Rep. Darryl Owens (D-Louisville). Grimes has pursued the use of technology to protect the right to vote since being elected, successfully seeking in 2013 legislation to permit electronic voter registration for military and overseas voters. In 2014 she oversaw the implementation of the military and overseas voting portal, which has been praised nationally by voters and local election officials alike for how easy and convenient it is to use. Grimes also held roundtable discussions with elected officials and citizens around the state to discuss expanding electronic voter registration to all voters.

Kentucky: Judge throws out election results in 2014 Magoffin judge-executive race | Lexington Herald-Leader

There were so many violations of election rules in last November’s election for Magoffin County judge-executive that the results must be thrown out, a judge has ruled. Circuit Judge John David Preston declared the office vacant, creating a question about Judge-Executive Charles “Doc” Hardin’s status. Hardin, a Democrat seeking a third consecutive term, defeated Republican challenger John P. Montgomery by 28 votes in the disputed election, 3,281 to 3,253. On Saturday, one of Hardin’s attorneys, James L. Deckard, said Hardin is disappointed with the ruling and will appeal. In Preston’s decision, he cited a raft of improprieties, including a lack of required information on applications for absentee ballots; precinct officers failing to document how they identified voters and improperly helping people vote; and residents casting early ballots at the county clerk’s office when there was no Republican election commissioner present as required.

Kentucky: How Senator Rand Paul can run for re-election and president at the same time | Slate

Sen. Rand Paul is on track to officially jump into the presidential race on April 7, the New York Times reports, citing “people close to” the Kentucky Republican. “Only his family’s doubts could change his mind at this point, said associates of the senator,” according to the Times. While Paul’s entry into what is promising to be a crowded GOP field appears nearly a done deal, the first-term senator has one looming problem ahead: Kentucky law dictates that “no candidate’s name shall appear on any voting machine or absentee ballot more than once.” In other words, by law, Paul wouldn’t be able to compete in both his home state’s GOP presidential primary and Republican Senate primary, which will be held together on the same day in May 2016. Team Paul, meanwhile, has made it clear that their man isn’t willing to give up a second term in the Senate to battle for the GOP presidential nomination. So, game over then? Hardly. “There are avenues available to him, should he decide to run for both offices at the same time,” Doug Stafford, Paul’s top political strategist, told reporters on a conference call in early December. “I don’t think we have abandoned any option, nor have we settled on any option.”

Kentucky: Rand Paul asks GOP leaders for a presidential caucus in 2016 | Lexington Herald-Leader

Requesting help to avoid a “costly and time-consuming legal challenge,” U.S. Sen. Rand Paul is asking members of the Republican Party of Kentucky to create a presidential caucus in 2016 that would happen well ahead of the May primary election. In a letter dated Feb. 9, Paul told GOP leaders that an earlier presidential preference vote would give Kentuckians “more leverage to be relevant” in the wide-open competition for the Republican presidential nomination. And it could help him win that nomination, he said. “You, as a member of the Kentucky Republican Central Committee, will be the one to decide if you want to help me get an equal chance at the nomination,” Paul wrote.

Kentucky: Supporters Hopeful For Bill Granting Voting Rights For Felons | WKU Public Radio

A Kentucky House committee on Tuesday passed a bill that would give felons the right to vote. The House has passed a similar bill every year since 2007, but the bills have died or been significantly changed in the Senate. Janet Tucker, of the advocacy group Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, said that keeping felons from voting disproportionately affects minority communities. “Those communities really aren’t getting their full vote in our democracy still, so it’s an important issue for our democracy as well as individuals and their rights as citizens,” Tucker said. Felons convicted of murder and sex offenses are excluded in the House bill.

Kentucky: It’s Almost Impossible for Felons to Vote in Kentucky. Rand Paul Wants to Change That. | Mother Jones

Sen. Rand Paul began the new year by lobbying for one of his favorite causes: criminal-justice reform. Last week, Paul issued a press release urging the Kentucky Legislature to act on a bill that would let state voters decide whether or not to create a path back to voting rights for nonviolent felons who have completed their sentences. “Restoring voting rights for those who have repaid their debt to society is simply the right thing to do,” Paul said in the release. In 2014, the Democratic-controlled Kentucky House approved a bill that would put a constitutional amendment on ballots in the fall—if voters approved the measure, it would have automatically restored the voting rights of nonviolent felons who have served their time. But the Republican-controlled Senate passed a substitute that proposed several tough restrictions, including a mandatory five-year waiting period after prison before felons could reapply to vote. The two chambers couldn’t agree, and the issue has stalled. Paul, who favors the less-restrictive House bill, is trying to give the issue CPR. (His office declined to comment for this article.)

Kentucky: Supporters hope for voting rights reform | Bowling Green Daily News

Five prefiled bills in the Kentucky General Assembly propose restoring voting rights for many of the state’s convicted felons, and advocates say they hope reform can be enacted in a state with a high rate of disenfranchisement. The different acts of legislation are sponsored by both Democratic and Republican lawmakers. State Sen. Gerald Neal, D-Louisville, prefiled the first bill in the 2015 legislative session to call for an amendment to the state constitution to allow convicted felons to vote. Subsequent bills were filed by Rep. Darryl Owens, D- Louisville, Sen. Tom Buford, R-Nicholasville, and Rep. Jeff Hoover, R-Jamestown.

Kentucky: Rand Paul may forgo White House ballot measure in Kentucky | Courier-Journal

It looks as if U.S. Sen. Rand Paul is giving up hope that the Kentucky General Assembly will change state law so that he can run for both re-election to the U.S. Senate and for president in 2016. Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer, who sponsored a bill that would have changed the law last year, said that Paul told him not to bother with sponsoring the legislation again after the Democrats held on to the Kentucky House of Representatives in last month’s election. “I spoke with Sen. Paul … and he thanked me and our caucus support, but he told me that he was not going to pursue that route this session, but he is looking into other options that will not require our help,” Thayer said in a recent interview.

Kentucky: Grimes pledges legal challenge if Paul attempts simultaneous races | WHAS

Six weeks after she lost her own bid for the U-S Senate, Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes (R-Kentucky) tells WHAS11 if U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) tries to appear on the same ballot for both Senate and President in 2016, she will challenge him in court. “The law is clear,” Grimes said. “You can’t be on the ballot twice for two offices.” Kentucky Democrats are not cooperating as Paul considers mounting simultaneous campaigns for Senate and President. Democrats maintained control of the Kentucky House in last month’s election, a roadblock to legislation favored by the Republican Senate to remove the prohibition. House Speaker Greg Stumbo (D-Prestonsburg) declined to consider a Senate bill to that effect earlier this year.

Kentucky: Rand Paul’s latest ballot option: Dare Alison Lundergan Grimes to defy him! | Salon

Senator Rand Paul is running for reelection in 2016. Can you believe it? He’s also probably running for president in 2016. That means that Paul will be running for two (2) offices in Kentucky in 2016 — a double-win for America, but also something that he can’t do according to Kentucky state law. Paul’s favored recourse — getting the Kentucky legislature to eliminate a law stating that “no candidate’s name shall appear on any voting machine or absentee ballot more than once” — is all but dead, after the Kentucky GOP’s efforts to take control of the state House fell short on Election Day. Kentucky’s Democratic Speaker has been clear that he has no intention of bringing up a bill to eliminate the law, because he doesn’t like Rand Paul. This doesn’t leave Paul without options. A couple of them are fairly straightforward: he could just not run in the Kentucky presidential primary and cede those delegates. Or the party could move the presidential primary to a caucus in March and keep the Senate primary in May — something that the party could choose to do without the legislature’s approval, the downside being that the party would have to cover the costs of the caucuses.

Kentucky: Rand Paul’s ballot time-bomb: Why he may have to sue to run for president | Salon

OK, sure, there’s little doubt that Rand Paul is going to win the next presidential election by a 538-0 electoral vote margin. But there’s maybe .000001 percent possibility he won’t that we can’t fully rule out. He could lose the general election, for example, if the Democrat Party Voter Fraud Machine tries to steal it. He could also lose to one of the other ~35 Republican presidential candidates in the primary. And then what does he do? Go home to Kentucky and be a boring old eye doctor for the rest of his life? He’d probably like to return to the Senate, where he’s up for reelection in 2016. This is the problem. Kentucky law states that “no candidate’s name shall appear on any voting machine or absentee ballot more than once.” That means that on May 17, 2016, the day of the Kentucky primary, Rand Paul cannot be a candidate in both the presidential primary and Senate primary. Kentucky Republicans had hoped to change this law. The Republican-controlled state Senate has already passed a bill to allow Paul to run for both. But Republicans failed to win control of the state House on election night, and the Democratic House speaker, Greg Stumbo, has blocked the bill. He claims “the state constitution bars lawmakers from passing ‘special legislation’ that would benefit only one person.” He added, a bit more to the point: “I’m not a fan of Sen. Paul, and I’m not eager to see my country turned over to him.”

Kentucky: Paul still faces ballot quandary in Kentucky | Associated Press

The Republican tidal wave that swept Democrats out of office nationwide didn’t solve U.S. Sen. Rand Paul’s potential quandary in Kentucky, where the tea party favorite could become entangled in a state election law if he decides to run for president and another Senate term in 2016. Legislation tweaking the once-obscure law to ensure Paul could appear on Kentucky’s ballot running for both offices simultaneously easily passed the GOP-led Kentucky Senate this year. But it died across the Capitol in the House, where Democrats remain in charge. This fall, Republicans seemingly had their best chance in decades to gain control of the House in a state where President Barack Obama is deeply unpopular. Had Republicans consolidated their power in the legislature, it seemed almost certain they would deliver on Paul’s request to change the law. But Democrats hung on to their majority, leaving the first-term senator and his supporters looking for other potential options.

Kentucky: Judge Denies Grimes Lawsuit Over McConnell ‘Election Violation’ Mailer | TPM

A Kentucky judge on Monday rejected a court motion filed by Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes seeking an immediate injunction to stop Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell’s campaign from sending out mailers that have the appearance of an official Kentucky notice. The mailers, reported Friday by TPM, read “ELECTION VIOLATION NOTICE” and go on to warn voters that they may be acting on “fraudulent” information from the Grimes campaign. The tactic ultimately amounts to a creative attack on Grimes, although the mailers could create the impression that the voters who received them are at risk of committing voter fraud if they cast a ballot. Franklin County Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd denied the Grimes motion, spokespersons for the Grimes and McConnell campaigns confirmed on Monday. Grimes is “exploring options” on what to do next, her spokesperson said.

Kentucky: Voting law leaves many out of election | Courier-Journal

His mailbox has been stuffed with campaign letters, his TV plastered with political ads. But Brian Wright of Louisville won’t be casting a ballot Tuesday in Kentucky’s election. He’s among an estimated 7.4 percent of voting-age Kentuckians — including 22.3 percent of black voting-age residents — barred from casting ballots because of a felony conviction, a disenfranchisement rate that is third-highest in the nation, according to the Sentencing Project, a reform advocacy group. “I want to have a voice,” said Wright, 33, who pleaded guilty in 2008 to drug possession, receiving five years of probation and losing the ability to vote. Kentucky is one of only four states where all felons permanently lose their right to vote unless it is restored by the governor, said Marc Mauer, executive director of the Sentencing Project. He argued the state’s high exclusion rate is “quite likely to have a real impact on elections.”

Kentucky: Redistricting haunts election with ‘ghost precincts’ | Cincinnati Inquirer

Kentucky’s legislative redistricting haunted the county clerks of Campbell and Kenton counties by forcing them to set up “ghost precincts.” “Ghost precincts” were created in strips of land where nobody lives in response to make House and Senate districts contiguous, said Campbell County Clerk Jack Snodgrass. The legislature approved the redistricting plan in August 2013. A wooded hillside along Sleepy Hollow Road is home to Kenton County’s ghost Fort Wright 4.5 precinct. Nobody is registered to vote in the Sleepy Hollow precinct including Ichabod Crane. And Crescent Springs 3.5, another ghost precinct, is along the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks. The new precincts were created in response to the redrawing of the 23rd Senate District and the 65th and 69th House districts.

Kentucky: Appeals court rules in electioneering ban | Associated Press

A federal appeals court ruling Friday will allow Kentucky to prohibit campaign activity on public property near polling places but not on private property. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on a permanent injunction issued three days earlier by U.S. District Judge William O. Bertelsman, who said the state law violates First Amendment speech rights. A three-judge appeals panel agreed with Bertelsman as far as allowing electioneering on private property but lifted the part of the injunction that applied to public property or polling locations. The case was brought in June by John Russell, a Campbell County businessman who had campaign signs removed from his business’ yard on Election Day in 2012 and 2014. The signs were removed by sheriff’s deputies because they were within 300 feet of a polling place at a church in Cold Spring.