Pol Watchers

Beshear names 2 to election board in nick of time

Gov. Steve Beshear picked a new Republican and a new Democrat to serve on the Kentucky Board of Elections just in time for last week's meeting.

Beshear tapped two experienced election experts, former Republican Party Chairman Bob Gable and George Russell, a former board of elections and registry of election finance agency official and a Democrat. Both are from Frankfort. The appointments were effective April 14.

As first reported by the Herald-Leader's "Political notebook," Beshear didn't make the appointments before April 1, as required by law.

The Election Board's next meeting was April 15. And because Beshear named the appointments April 14 both Gable and Russell were able to make it, confirmed Les Fugate, spokesman for Secretary of State Trey Grayson.

Grayson's office had urged Beshear to fill the two spots on the board before that April 15 meeting so that the new members could get caught up to speed before having to make crucial decisions at the board's next meeting -- the day of the May 20 primary.

- Ryan Alessi

House passes early voting bill

The House, by a 61-30 vote, approved a measure that would allow Kentuckians to vote up to 12 working days before an election at the county clerks office.

Currently, voters can cast absentee ballots in the county clerks office early -- but only if they have an excuse for being out of town or unavailable on Election Day. This legislation, sponsored by Rep. Milward Dedman, D-Harrodsburg, wouldn't require an excuse to cast an early ballot at the clerk's office.

The bill, despite being backed by Republican Secretary of State Trey Grayson, did draw opposition from 29 Republicans, as well as Democratic Rep. Jim Gooch, D-Providence.

House Republican Floor Leader Jeff Hoover of Jamestown said later that much of the opposition stemmed from the failure of the House to adopt an amendment from Rep. Jamie Comer, R-Tompkinsville. Comer's amendment would allow county clerks to hire poll workers

"Unfortunately there are a few counties that have traditionally had problems with absentee votes -- excessive absentee votes," Comer said on the House floor. Comer noted that two 2006 races in his district -- the Tompkinsville mayor and a Green County official -- are unresolved and in the court system because of absentee voting questions.

But several Democrats said that provision wasn't necessary and it was defeated by a voice vote.

Other Republicans, such as Rep. Jim DeCesare of Bowling Green, said they were concerned by the $760,000 cost of buying 150 new voting machines that this legislation would require.

"I would encourage you to defeat the bill, not that I'm opposed to the bill, but I think our local boards of elections cannot incur these costs at this time," added Hoover.

Still, the bill survived and moved the Senate.

Grayson's office issued a statement praising the House's action.

"Kentuckians should be allowed to vote the way that they live. This legislation would bring Kentucky in line with 35 other states who currently allow some form of early voting," Grayson's statement said. "It is high time that Kentucky modernizes its voting procedures to reflect the way that we interact in the 21st Century."

- Ryan Alessi

House considers two ways to alter presidential election

Kentucky could change how it participates in the presidential election with two bills that passed out of a House committee Tuesday.

Under one proposal, Kentucky would join several other states to agree to elect the U.S. president by the popular vote instead of the electoral college system. House Bill 400, sponsored by Rep. Ruth Ann Palumbo, D-Lexington, would sign Kentucky onto an interstate compact. But the agreement only would kick in when enough states that would bring a total of 270 electoral college votes -- the amount necessary for a presidential candidate to win -- join that compact.

The other proposal, pushed by a group of Lloyd High School students and sponsored by Rep. Adam Koenig, R-Erlanger, would divvy up six of Kentucky's eight electoral college votes by congressional districts. Whichever presidential candidate garnered the most votes in each of the six districts would receive that elector's vote.

The other two electors would be awarded to the candidate that received the most popular votes in Kentucky. That measure, H.B. 423, could take effect this fall.

Both measures were approved by 7-2 votes in the House Elections, Constitutional Amendments and Intergovernmental Affairs committee. The two were presented in the committee last week but not voted upon because not enough panel members showed up.

- Ryan Alessi

Panel Oks bill to change Lt. Gov. candidate selection

The House committee that covers election issues approved a bill that would allow gubernatorial candidates to pick their running mates after the primary elections.

The bill would eliminate the requirement for candidates running for governor to find a lieutenant governor candidate in order to run in the race. It passed the committee 8-0 with Rep. Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg and a former running mate on last year's gubernatorial ticket headed by Bruce Lunsford, opting to pass.

It would allow the winning primary candidates more time to make the selection and "perhaps even consider a person he ran against during the primary," said Rep. Tommy Thompson, D-Owensboro, the sponsor of the measure, H.B. 757.

The bill, if approved by the full General Assembly, would take effect before the 2011 governors race. And if approved, it would allow Gov. Steve Beshear to choose someone other than Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo if he wished but risk the political fallout, Thompson told reporters later.

Rep. Larry Clark, D-Louisville, said he was concerned that such a move might open up the field to as many as a dozen Democratic contenders for governor. Last year's primary drew seven slates of candidates.

"We'll have almost some dummy candidates running," he said. "I think it just creates havoc in the Democratic primary. We'll go from five to 11. I just don't think voters want more candidates."

Thompson, however, said the presidential race has served as a successful model for the process of picking a running mate after the primary.

Rep. Melvin Henley, D-Murray, couldn't resist getting in a reference to the current flap between Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, in which Obama said Monday he didn't see why someone in "second place is offering the vice presidency to the person who is in first place."

"I just see the danger in number twos asking number one to be their running mates," Henley said.

One other piece of good-natured inside political ribbing:  Secretary of State Trey Grayson, in adding his support of the bill, told the committee that someone who chooses to announce a running mate before the primary could do so -- it just wouldn't be binding.

He used Clark as an example, saying Clark could inform voters he sought to name Rep. Rob Wilkey, D-Scottsville, as his running mate, it would allow voters to see that as either an asset or a detraction.

"This would be like No. 2 picking No. 1," Wilkey quipped.

Clark and Wilkey were the two House Democratic leaders who teamed up to push for a certain version of a casino constitutional amendment, which ended up falling short.

Clark told Grayson that he appreciated the nomination but added, "We can't even get a bill out of this committee."

- Ryan Alessi

Lack of quorum on panel delays election bills

The House Elections, Constitutional Amendments and Intergovernmental Affairs committee -- which only last week saw its membership changed -- failed to attract enough lawmakers to vote on a pair of presidential election bills, including one pushed by Northern Kentucky high school students.

Rep. Darryl Owens, D-Louisville and the chairman of the panel, apologized to the Lloyd High School contingent that drafted a bill sponsored by Rep. Adam Koenig, R-Erlanger, that would carve up how Kentucky's eight electoral college votes are distributed. Instead of all eight going to the presidential candidate that wins Kentucky's popular vote, a candidate would receive one electoral vote for each of the six congressional districts he or she wins. The remaining two electoral votes would be awarded to the statewide popular vote winner.

That's the same method Maine and Nebraska use.

Cory Howell, a junior from Lloyd, told the panel that Kentucky distributed its electoral votes in that way until 1824. He said such a system could help attract presidential candidates, who have tended to ignore Kentucky in recent presidential general elections.

"Increased campaigning would lead to increased awareness which would lead to increased voter turnout," Howell said.

Rep. Mike Harmon, R-Junction City, said he liked that plan better than one presented Tuesday morning by Rep. Ruth Ann Palumbo, D-Lexington, that would add Kentucky to a list of states that would agree to deciding the presidential race by the national popular vote instead of the electoral college system, in which the winner of states receive a chunk of votes proportional to the state's voting population.

But alas, neither proposal presented at the 8:30 a.m. meeting were voted upon in the committee, which couldn't muster the necessary seven members to constitute a quorum.

This comes a week after House Speaker Jody Richards tossed Rep. Dottie Sims, D-Horse Cave, off that panel after she changed her mind to oppose Richards' preferred version of the casino bill. Richards replaced Sims with two Democrats, Reps. Tim Firkins, D-Louisville, and John Will Stacy, D-West Liberty.

Firkins, a member of the House Education Committee that was meeting at the same time, arrived to Tuesday's meeting late. Stacy, who was not on a competing panel, was a no-show.

Committee member and Speaker Pro Tem Larry Clark, D-Louisville, left early to attend a leadership meeting. Fellow panel member Rob Wilkey, D-Scottsville and the Democratic whip, missed the meeting even though he was slated to present a campaign finance bill. Wilkey also was called to that 9 a.m. leadership meeting.

The other two who didn't attend were Rep. Kevin Bratcher, R-Louisville and Rep. Joe Fischer, R-Fort Thomas.

- Ryan Alessi

Kentucky GOP accuses Bluegrass Freedom Fund

The Republican Party of Kentucky filed a complaint to the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance raising questions about whether the Bluegrass Freedom Fund went out of bounds with its ads in last year's governor's race.

To view the complaint, click here.

Steve Robertson, the Kentucky GOP chairman, said recent comments in the press by representatives of the Democratic Governors Association and casino company owner Bill Yung -- both of whom donated to the Bluegrass Freedom Fund -- indicate that the group's purpose was to help Democrat Steve Beshear get elected.

"They made it clear that they were giving big money to this fund to help Steve Beshear get elected," Robertson said in an interview. "Last time I checked they weren't saying they were giving to improve ethics in Kentucky."

The Bluegrass Freedom Fund ran several TV ads during the governor's race that touted ethics reform in Kentucky government. All of the spots focused on ethics problems that dogged former Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher, whom Beshear soundly beat in the November election.

UPDATE 7:34 p.m.: Jim Lamb, a Washington-based attorney for the Bluegrass Freedom Fund, charged that the Republican party's complaint "misstates the law and is factually wrong."

Lamb said the issue ads calling for ethics reforms were consistent with a June 2007 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Here's part of his statement:

The BFF acted completely independently of any campaign. And while we appreciated the support of our donors, they played no role in the independent decision making of our organization. RPK's complaint is legally and factually wrong.

In contrast, Gov. Fletcher was a member of and personally raised money for the Republican Governors Association, which then ran character attack ads against Steve Beshear last year.  A complaint was filed against the RGA in the Fall of 2007.

The RPK's facts about BFF are wrong, but if their legal argument is correct, then they just indicted the RGA and their member, Gov. Fletcher.

The Bluegrass Freedom Fund was set up under Section 527 under the IRS code that allows groups to advocate on behalf of issues but forbids coordination with candidates or campaigns.

Both Brian Namey, spokesman for the DGA, and Yung have been quoted as saying they supported Beshear's efforts to get elected. Namey said in August the group was "doing everything we can to support Steve Beshear." And Yung told the Associated Press last month that he exercised his First Amendment right to give money to support Beshear. Neither explicitly said contributions to the Bluegrass Freedom Fund was their main avenue of support.

Robertson said even though the complaint comes months after the governor's race results, he said the Republican Party wants to ensure that future 527 groups are more tightly regulated.

Republican Sen. Damon Thayer of Georgetown, has sponsored a bill that would require certain 527 groups weighing in on constitutional amendment issues to reveal their donors to the Registry of Election Finance frequently. Currently, 527 groups that operate in Kentucky only have to file annually with the IRS.

"We've got to send a message to groups like this that if they're going to participate in elections in Kentucky, they need to participate the right way," Robertson said.

- Ryan Alessi

House panel Oks ditching runoff, campaign finance fixes

The House elections and constitutional amendment committee approved the bill by Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, to eliminate the runoff election for a gubernatorial election.

"We narrowly avoided one of them last year," Thayer said.

The committee unanimously approved getting rid of the extra election, which would cost about $7 million if no gubernatorial candidate received at least 40 percent of the vote in a party primary for governor.

The committee also passed a bill that would tweak campaign laws, including allowing people to request absentee ballots by e-mail.

Those bills, which received little discussion, were the warm-up acts for the casino gambling constitutional amendment, which the panel took up next.

- Ryan Alessi

527 bill targets constitutional amendment groups

Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, introduced legislation to force so-called 527 groups to disclose names of donors if those political issue organizations advocate for or against constitutional amendments.

His bill, S.B. 148, hit some Resistance from Democrats in the Senate state and local government committee. Sen. Ed Worley, the minority floor leader from Richmond, and others questioned whether Thayer was just targeting groups weighing in on constitutional amendments because this is the eve of Gov. Steve Beshear unveiling his proposal that would allow casino gambling.

That proposal will be in the form of a constitutional amendment, which requires legislative approval and ratification of voters on the election ballot.

"I know the intent of this legislation is about gaming," Worley said, who added that he would favor legislation that is harder on any kinds of 527 groups, including those that advocate on behalf of candidates. He called them "absolutely rotten."

A 527 organization -- set up under section 527 of the IRS regulations -- can raise unlimited money from individuals or corporations to advocate for or against a political cause or candidate. Most recently in Kentucky, the Bluegrass Freedom Fund 527 organization ran harsh ads against Gov. Ernie Fletcher in last fall's governor's race, which Beshear won.

But Thayer said later that Worley's call for broader 527 disclosure legislation was "a ruse" to derail this bill.

"I want the voters to know where the money is coming from -- for or against a constitutional amendment," Thayer said.

Thayer's bill passed out of committee, 6-4 along party lines.

Among other provisions, the legislation would require that any 527 groups or other organizations that spend more than $5,000 to weigh in on a constitutional amendment issue would have to file weekly reports to the Legislative Ethics Commission disclosing when the groups' representatives meet with lawmakers. Those political issues groups also would have to disclose their finances to the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance.

For more details, see tomorrow's Herald-Leader.

- Ryan Alessi

Clerks to lawmakers: Give us money or no mandates

A House panel approved a bill that would, among other things, boost the pay of election poll workers and the amount of money the state provides to counties.

Under the legislation, H.B. 360, counties would have to pay poll workers at least $100 instead of the $60 minimum paycheck for an election.

However, it's unlikely that will it will take effect this year, because Gov. Steve Beshear had slashed back the amount of money counties would be reimbursed by the state. Currently counties get $255 per precinct from the state. Under Beshear's proposal, counties would get about $200. It costs roughly $1,800 per precinct to run an election.

So the House Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee passed the bill, sponsored by Democratic Rep. Darryl Owens of Louisville, 7-0 out of the House with the understanding that they wouldn't let it take effect until the 2010 elections.

- Ryan Alessi

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