Some Boone County election results improperly certified, motion says

Just when the issues surrounding last year’s local elections in Union were seemingly resolved, a new motion has been submitted to the Boone County Circuit Court alleging that the Boone County Board of Elections improperly certified multiple election results last year. Additionally, the motion argues, Deputy Clerk Stacy Adkins may have falsified official documents, an act that, if true, would be a felony.

“In no place is it OK for a government official to ‘randomly chose’ a date when something happened and prescribe that that is actually what has happened,” said Attorney Steve Megerle, who brought the motion to the court on behalf of Union City Commissioner Doug Bine. Bine was appointed to the city legislature in February after the court dissolved the previous commission, as a result of wrongful ballot distribution.

“That is false on its face,” Megerle added.

Boone County Clerk and Board of Elections Chair Justin Crigler, on the other hand, called the accusations “disgusting and vile,” arguing the motion mischaracterizes the events.

“It is offensive what he said about Ms. Adkins,” Crigler said, asserting his office had not violated any regulations.

So what happened, and what happens if the court rules against the board?

More election troubles

Election Day fell on Nov. 5 last year, and the Board of Elections completed a hand-to-eye audit of the votes on Nov. 7 (a portion of which LINK nky actually attended to observe). The board members had to sign to certify the results of the audit, and then the clerk’s office had to submit them to the Kentucky Secretary of State by noon Nov. 8, 2024.

After that, board members had to sign individual certificates for the winning candidates so that the clerk’s office could deliver them to the candidates by Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. In practice, this meant the board members had to have everything signed by the preceding Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, before the office closed for the weekend.

Boards of elections are comprised of one Democrat representative, one Republican representative, the sheriff (or his proxy), the county clerk and the county attorney. Former Boone County Sheriff Mike Helmig did not attend the hand-to-eye audit on Nov. 7.

Megerle’s motion relies on signed and notarized affidavits from board of elections members, Adkins and Crigler, which lay out the testimonies and timelines of the certification process. They all attest to some commonalities: The board members signed the election result certifications by the Nov. 8 deadline, they all came in sometime before Nov. 15 to sign the candidate certifications and that at no point between Nov. 8 and Nov. 14 did the three or more members of the board meet as a single body.

Final certificates for winning candidates list the sign date for the certificates as Nov. 15, 2024, yet Adkins in her affidavit indicates they were signed sooner.

“I emailed the completed documents to myself in order to save copies as required by statutes,” Adkins writes, “and the time stamp on this email was November 14, 2024, at 2:16 p.m.”

At another point in her affidavit, Adkins writes that she “randomly chose to date the certificates, November 15, 2024, as I did not know when everyone would be signing.” The other members do not recall in their affidavits when exactly they signed, but Adkins’ email time stamp suggests it was sometime before the afternoon of Nov. 14.

This is the crux of motion’s argument that Adkins had falsified records- the evidence purportedly shows the board didn’t actually meet on Nov. 15 to sign the documents.

The second part of the motion alleges that since the board members signed documents one-by-one, rather than meeting in a public setting with a minimum number of members present (called a quorum in legal jargon), that this was a violation of Kentucky open meetings laws, which mandate that public business by government bodies has to take place out in the open where anyone can observe.

The State Board of Elections is responsible for certifying election results for state offices and officers above the state government, like Congressional and Presidential races. Local and county races, on the other hand, fall under the county board’s purview. Thus, the motion argues, the elections for not only the Union City Commission, but every other local office, every city council, every school board (including one member of the Kenton County School Board), every county officer and every local ballot question in Boone County were not properly certified.

“I believe the testimony Ms. Adkins provided in her affidavits should be reviewed by the local grand jury to make a decision whether Ms. Adkins committed any crime,” Megerle said, adding that he believed Clerk Crigler should ask the Department of Justice to audit the election and give recommendations.

The motion does not, in fact, ask the court to void any of the election results; Boone County isn’t suddenly going to find itself bereft of local officials in the future. Instead, Bine’s motion asks the court to fine each member of the Boone County Board of Elections $100, plus attorney’s fees.

Jeff Mando, the attorney representing the clerk called the allegations “absurd,” arguing the clerk’s office adhered to proper processes.

“They met as they were required to do by law,” Mando said. “The paperwork was filled out as customarily done. There was absolutely no violation of any law in terms of how that election was conducted, how the election results were certified and sent into Frankfort.”

Mando elaborated.

“The act of executing these certificates is a ministerial act,” Mando said, meaning it follows a predictable, mandated process. “It does not require a second meeting to be conducted. To suggest that that’s required, I just think borders on the absurd.”

Judge Richard Brueggemann, who ruled on the Union election challenge, will issue a judgement on the motion in the coming weeks or months.