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Office of the Attorney General
Attorney General Conway, Secretary of State Walker Work Together to Monitor Upcoming Election for Voter Fraud, Irregularities
Attorney General Jack Conway, Secretary of State Elaine Walker and their staffs have been working closely to ensure that the May 17 primary election is fair and free of voter fraud. Representatives from both agencies have been meeting in recent weeks as part of the Kentucky Election Integrity Task Force to prevent and investigate allegations of vote fraud during the primary election. Kentucky State Police, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky and Kentucky Board of Elections are also represented on the task force.
“We’re doing everything we can to ensure an honest and fair election for all Kentuckians, said General Conway. “Investigators from my office will be patrolling precincts and polling places on election day, but we also need citizens to join in the effort by reporting any election irregularities.”
Secretary Walker, the chief elections official of the Commonwealth and Chairman of the State Board of Elections, praised the cooperation between the agencies and also stressed the important role citizens play on election day.
“The role every voter plays in ensuring clean and fair elections is critical. Detecting vote buying and other forms of election fraud depends in large part on the watchfulness and cooperation of voters across the Commonwealth,” said Secretary Walker. “Together, we will ensure that every citizen can participate in a fair and honest election.”
The Office of the Attorney General has jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute violations of the Kentucky election laws. By law, the Attorney General administers programs to observe the conduct of elections, maintains a toll-free hotline to receive reports of election law violations, investigates any such violations, takes appropriate enforcement action and conducts post-election audits based on random selection in counties throughout the Commonwealth.
General Conway’s Election Fraud Hotline received 116 calls from 43 counties between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. during the 2010 Primary Election. The Attorney General’s office worked with its state and federal law enforcement partners as well as election officials to review the election complaints, and where necessary, investigate any that proved to be criminal in nature.
The Attorney General’s Election Fraud Hotline is 1-800-328-VOTE (800-328-8683). The hotline is available throughout the year during normal business hours. On May 17, 2011, calls will be received from 6 a.m. EDT to 7 p.m. EDT.
Members of the news media covering the election are reminded that they may be in the voting room for the limited purpose of filming the voting process. However, as per OAG 88-76, the media may not conduct interviews with voters inside the voting room, record the identity of voters, or disrupt the voting process, a Class A misemeanor. See KRS 117.236.
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