Kentucky Statutes 15.243 – Enforcement of all election laws — Duties of Attorney General — Toll-free line for report of violations — Random inquiry for irregularities — Initiation of prosecutions
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(1) In addition to the other duties and powers of the Attorney General, he or she shall enforce all of the state’s election laws by civil or criminal processes.
(2) The Attorney General shall:
(a) Devise and administer programs to observe the conduct of elections; (b) Hold public hearings;
(c) Establish a toll-free telephone service for the purpose of receiving reports of election law violations. The service shall be operated during regular business hours throughout the year and during the hours which any poll in the state is open on the day of any primary, special election, or regular election;
(d) Initiate investigations or investigate alleged violations of election laws at the request of a registered voter or on his or her own motion;
(e) Issue subpoenas for the production of any books, papers, correspondence, memoranda or other records, and compel the attendance of witnesses that he or she deems relevant to the purposes of any investigation;
(f) Present evidence of alleged violations to a grand jury; and
(g) File appropriate complaints in any court of competent jurisdiction.
(3) (a) The Attorney General shall be required to begin an independent inquiry for any potential irregularities that may have occurred in each election in not fewer than twelve (12) of Kentucky’s counties, to be selected at random in a public process, within twenty (20) days following each primary or regular election.
(b) The Attorney General shall promulgate administrative regulations in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A to establish a uniform procedure and timeline for his or her agents to follow when conducting the independent inquiries. The administrative regulations shall also designate the data and forms that shall be requested from each county that is chosen.
(c) The Attorney General shall report his or her findings to the grand jury of each county involved, the chief circuit judge for the circuit in which the county is located, and the appropriate county clerk.
(4) When the Registry of Election Finance concludes there is probable cause to believe a violation of election laws has occurred, it shall forward the matter to the Attorney General for prosecution. In the event the Attorney General or local prosecutor fails to prosecute the matter in a timely fashion, the registry’s attorney may petition the Circuit Court to be appointed as a special prosecutor. Upon such motion timely filed, for good cause shown, the court shall enter an order to that effect.
(5) When requested by the Attorney General, all state and local agencies and officials, including the Auditor of Public Accounts, Commonwealth’s attorneys, county attorneys, Registry of Election Finance, Department of Kentucky State Police, sheriffs’ departments and local police shall give all possible assistance to the Attorney General in the performance of his or her duties.
Effective: June 29, 2023
History: Amended 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 74, sec. 1, effective June 29, 2023. — Amended
2022 Ky. Acts ch. 219, sec. 1, effective July 14, 2022. — Amended 2007 Ky. Acts ch. 85, sec. 14, effective June 26, 2007. — Amended 1990 Ky. Acts ch. 48, sec. 1, effective July 13, 1990. — Created 1988 Ky. Acts ch. 341, sec. 2, effective July 15,
1988.
(2) The Attorney General shall:
Terms Used In Kentucky Statutes 15.243
- Attorney: means attorney-at-law. See Kentucky Statutes 446.010
- Devise: To gift property by will.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
- Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
- Regular election: means the election in even-numbered years at which members of Congress are elected and the election in odd-numbered years at which state officers are elected. See Kentucky Statutes 446.010
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes territories, outlying possessions, and the District of Columbia. See Kentucky Statutes 446.010
- Year: means calendar year. See Kentucky Statutes 446.010
(a) Devise and administer programs to observe the conduct of elections; (b) Hold public hearings;
(c) Establish a toll-free telephone service for the purpose of receiving reports of election law violations. The service shall be operated during regular business hours throughout the year and during the hours which any poll in the state is open on the day of any primary, special election, or regular election;
(d) Initiate investigations or investigate alleged violations of election laws at the request of a registered voter or on his or her own motion;
(e) Issue subpoenas for the production of any books, papers, correspondence, memoranda or other records, and compel the attendance of witnesses that he or she deems relevant to the purposes of any investigation;
(f) Present evidence of alleged violations to a grand jury; and
(g) File appropriate complaints in any court of competent jurisdiction.
(3) (a) The Attorney General shall be required to begin an independent inquiry for any potential irregularities that may have occurred in each election in not fewer than twelve (12) of Kentucky’s counties, to be selected at random in a public process, within twenty (20) days following each primary or regular election.
(b) The Attorney General shall promulgate administrative regulations in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A to establish a uniform procedure and timeline for his or her agents to follow when conducting the independent inquiries. The administrative regulations shall also designate the data and forms that shall be requested from each county that is chosen.
(c) The Attorney General shall report his or her findings to the grand jury of each county involved, the chief circuit judge for the circuit in which the county is located, and the appropriate county clerk.
(4) When the Registry of Election Finance concludes there is probable cause to believe a violation of election laws has occurred, it shall forward the matter to the Attorney General for prosecution. In the event the Attorney General or local prosecutor fails to prosecute the matter in a timely fashion, the registry’s attorney may petition the Circuit Court to be appointed as a special prosecutor. Upon such motion timely filed, for good cause shown, the court shall enter an order to that effect.
(5) When requested by the Attorney General, all state and local agencies and officials, including the Auditor of Public Accounts, Commonwealth’s attorneys, county attorneys, Registry of Election Finance, Department of Kentucky State Police, sheriffs’ departments and local police shall give all possible assistance to the Attorney General in the performance of his or her duties.
Effective: June 29, 2023
History: Amended 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 74, sec. 1, effective June 29, 2023. — Amended
2022 Ky. Acts ch. 219, sec. 1, effective July 14, 2022. — Amended 2007 Ky. Acts ch. 85, sec. 14, effective June 26, 2007. — Amended 1990 Ky. Acts ch. 48, sec. 1, effective July 13, 1990. — Created 1988 Ky. Acts ch. 341, sec. 2, effective July 15,
1988.