Allegations of vote buying fly in 30th District race

SPECIAL ELECTION TURNOUT ESTIMATED AT NEAR 20 PERCENT

Investigators with the Kentucky State Police and Kentucky Bureau of Investigation are looking into allegations of vote buying in Perry County in the special election for the open 30th state Senate district. 

"There was an allegation that either someone was buying votes or trading beer for votes in Perry County. We’re looking into that allegation," said Lt. Phil Crumpton, spokesman for the state police. He said he could not confirm whether any arrests had been made.

Allison Gardner Martin, spokeswoman for Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, said the election fraud hotline received two "complaints of irregular activity going on in Perry County" and that Kentucky Bureau of Investigation officials are looking into those tips.

But she said because investigators only started looking into the complaints Tuesday afternoon, "it would be premature to talk about the specifics."

Democrat Scott Alexander, a former state representative from Hazard, is facing Republican state Rep. Brandon Smith of Hazard in the race to replace Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo in the state Senate district that covers Bell, Harlan, Leslie and Perry counties.

Perry County Clerk Haven King said he also received two complaints of "vote buying" and referred them to the Board of Elections and state police. It remains unclear whether those are the same allegations being investigated by the attorney general's office.

Meanwhile, Leslie County Clerk James Lewis said his office received one complaint of a supporter of Alexander's "leaning out of his car yelling to vote for his candidate" at people going to the polls in the Wooton Precinct. The man was within 300 feet of the voting precinct, which is against state electioneering laws but was gone by the time authorities arrived, Lewis said.

On a 70-degree February day, turnout is likely to reach 20 percent in the four-county district, the clerks reported. Here are early estimates through the first six to seven hours of voting:

• Leslie County: 15-20 percent, estimated Lewis
• Harlan County: about 20 percent with heavier turnout coming from the Harlan area and lighter participation in the Tri-Cities area of Benham, Lynch and Cumberland in the northeast part of the county, said Clerk Wanda Clem
• Bell County: around 15 percent "but hoping for 20 percent," said Clerk Becky Blevins
• Perry County: as high as 23 percent turnout in the district's largest and most heavily Democratic district, said King

The Board of Elections will post unofficial results later tonight. Stay tuned for updates.

- Ryan Alessi

Comments

[Beshear started the vote buying wks ago]

SHEEEIIT ... Beshear started the 'vote buying' for Alexander weeks ago.

* Beshear gave Leo Haggerty a $50,000.00 a year job in exchange for Haggerty's vote for Alexander.

* $15,000.00 - 1/30/08 - 5 p.m., Beshear announced a $15,000 federal homeland security grant at the Harlan County Courthouse

* $2.6Million - 1/30/08 - Beshear doled out economic development money in Middlesboro to help lay the groundwork for a $2.6 million Southeast Telephone Co. operations center.

Who would expect anything less on election day from Beshear/Moore/Alexander than vote buying?

[Kelsey]

Its all over but the crying, congrads to Scott Alexander.
Kelsey

[Kelsey]

kelsey is predicting Alexander the winner before this web site does.
kelsey

[MOE]

Kelsey, I asked on a previous blog if you would confess to being an idiot (not idot) if Smith won. What are you waiting for?

[kelsey is a fraud]

What happened Kelsey old friend. Where is your boastful banter now that the results are in.

So much for a mandate as far as the democrats are concerned.

The Lt. Gov. could not even deliver his seat in a special election.

Go figure!