The recently fired assistant to the director of the State Board of Elections alleged in a letter to some members of the board that the office of Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes improperly gathered voter information from the state’s voter registration system during campaigns. In the letter, Matthew Selph, who was fired by the Board of Elections on Tuesday along with director Maryellen Allen, recalled a conversation with a staffer in the Secretary of State’s Office who said he was directed by the office to gather information “probably 3 or 4 times. . . every time they were running.” He did not specify what information was gathered. Selph has reported the conversation to the Executive Branch Ethics Commission. “Data that is released is documented, recorded and tracked through every step of the system to ensure that everything was done properly,” Selph, a Republican, wrote. “When the data was taken out of this building on a thumb drive, that trust was broken. We have no way to know what was on it, where it went or what it was used for.”
In the 17-page letter, which was sent Oct. 21 to four of the six members of the State Board of Elections, Selph launched a bevy of complaints against Grimes, a Democrat, and her staff, including allegations that Grimes granted staff improper access to the voter registration system, which contains information on every registered voter in the state, and that her office interfered with the state board of elections staff when granting a contract.
Grimes had little to say about Selph’s letter. “The Board thanks Ms. Allen and Mr. Selph for their service,” said Bradford Queen, the communications director for Grimes. “The decision of the Board was bipartisan and did not include the vote of the Secretary.”
Full Article: Fired staffer launches allegations at Secretary of State Grimes | Lexington Herald Leader.