Kentucky: Ethics panel declines to act on complaint about registering homeless voters | Kentucky.com

The Executive Branch Ethics Commission has decided not to take action on a complaint filed by Bill Johnson, Republican candidate for secretary of state, over voter registration of homeless people.

Johnson said Tuesday that John Steffen, executive director of the ethics commission, told him the panel lacked jurisdiction to consider his complaint against Secretary of State Elaine Walker and the State Board of Elections. After the commission’s regular meeting Monday, Steffen declined to comment.

Johnson contended in his complaint, filed in August, that Walker and the elections board were violating the Kentucky Constitution by allowing people who don’t have addresses to register to vote.

Kentucky: Grimes, Johnson Spar Over Homeless Voters | WFPL News

Speaking at this year’s Fancy Farm picnic, the candidates for secretary of state continued their debate about registering homeless people to vote in Kentucky.
Declaring that people without an address should not be allowed to vote, Republican nominee Bill Johnson said allowing them to register opens the door to possible voter fraud.

Last month, he filed an ethics complaint over a 2-page memorandum sent to county clerks by the secretary of state’s office telling local officials to approve voter applications that have “homeless” or “place to place” listed as an address.

Kentucky: GOP candidate files ethics complaint over voter registration of homeless | Kentucky.com

Bill Johnson, Republican candidate for secretary of state, filed an ethics complaint Thursday against Secretary of State Elaine Walker and the State Board of Elections over voter registration of homeless people.

Johnson, a Todd County businessman and educator, contends Walker and the board are violating the Kentucky Constitution by allowing people who don’t have addresses to register to vote. He says the elections board was wrong June 30 when it notified county clerks they could register voters who have no addresses.

The board said applications should be approved if they have “homeless” or “place to place” listed as addresses. Walker, who is chairwoman of the elections board, was not available for comment.

Kentucky: Secretary of State Candidates Spar Over Homeless Voters | WFPL News

The candidates for Kentucky Secretary of State are sparring over the issue of registering homeless people to vote, which is becoming the first line of attack in the race for the commonwealth’s chief election officer.

Earlier this month, the state board of elections sent a 2-page memorandum to county clerks telling them to uphold up state law and approve registration cards that have “homeless” or “place to place” listed under their addresses. The memo said a clerk should not refuse to register a homeless person on the grounds they do not have a traditional residence, but some county officials raised concerns about potential election fraud.

Citing state law and the now-defunct community organizing group ACORN, Republican candidate Bill Johnson decried the memo and called on current Secretary of State Elaine Walker, who chairs the state board, to resign from office.

Kentucky: Johnson plans legal action regarding homeless voters issue | Kentucky Politics

GOP Secretary of State candidate Bill Johnson said he will either file an ethics complaint or motion in court soon objecting to a memo sent from the state on the procedure for registering homeless voters.

The Kentucky Board of Elections sent a memo to county clerks identifying the need for clarification in voter registration applications from the homeless that have incomplete address information, due to a recent increase in the number of those voters.

Both Johnson and Boone County Clerk Kenny Brown have expressed concerns that the policy could lead to voter fraud.