The Boone County Board of Elections has asked the Boone County Circuit Court to strike an election challenge from Union City Commissioner Doug Bine.
It has also requested the court postpone the process of discovery – wherein the parties involved in the case seek out evidence for consideration at a trial – until the court rules on the strike request.
The Board of Elections filed the motion on Monday, arguing that Bine’s petition to challenge the election in Union, which the commissioner filed on Dec. 4, failed to adhere to proper protocols as established by Kentucky law. They filed a motion to postpone discovery on Wednesday, Dec. 11, which the court granted on the same day.
The challenge, which attorney Steve Megerle filed on behalf of current Commissioner Douglas Bine, comes amidst concerns about the operations of the recent election in which some residents claim to have received wrong ballots at two Union polling places.
The local races affected include the races for the Union City Commission and the ballot question relating to medical cannabis in the city.
“The election held this past Nov. 5 was an absolute disaster for the registered voters in the city of Union,” Bine said in a statement released last week. “This deeply flawed process and the gross irregularities that we experienced were at the hands of the chief election officer, Boone County Clerk Justin Crigler.”
Boone County Board of Elections Chair Justin Crigler, who has attributed the problems to “human error,” said in an opinion piece he submitted to LINK nky that voters in two precincts were mistakenly given the wrong ballots by poll workers.
“While my office and other agencies -including the Boone County Attorney, The Boone County Board of Elections and the Kentucky Board of Elections – continue to investigate the situation, I feel confident that the integrity of the election was not compromised and no election fraud was committed or even attempted,” Crigler said in the opinion piece. “Unfortunately, the situation was caused unintentionally by human error. I regret that mistakes were made and am deeply concerned that this took place. But my investigation has revealed that this was a mistake and nothing more sinister, nefarious or devious.”
The board of elections motion to strike argues that Bine must file a whole new election contest lawsuit rather than piggybacking on the current case, which was begun by Crigler on Nov. 8, when his office requested a recount.
“Defendants do not dispute that Bine has the right to file an election contest,” the Board of Elections’ motion reads. “However, he has not done so in a procedurally proper manner. Under the circumstances, there is only one permissible way for Bine to pursue an election contest: by initiating a separate suit in Boone Circuit Court under KRS 120.155(1).”
A hearing for the case is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 9:01 a.m. at the Boone County Justice Center in Burlington.
Read the full court motion to strike below.