FRANKFORT, Ky. (WDRB) -- A major dispute has erupted in Frankfort over the integrity of Kentucky's election system.
Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes said Kentuckians should be worried about what happened to their votes in the state's primary last month. She said voters can no longer trust the state Board of Elections.
"Right now, at the state Board of Elections, we have a ship without a captain," Grimes told reporters at a news conference.
Grimes is sounding the alarm after the board delayed certifying last month's primary election during its meeting on Tuesday. She said the board postponed certification only after Grimes pointed out 50 errors in the vote totals from twenty counties.
None of the errors would have changed who won and lost, but Grimes said voters should be concerned.
"It was embarrassing, and it should alarm every voter here in the commonwealth," Grimes said.
Grimes blamed House Bill 114, a new law which stripped her of authority over the Board of Elections, and made her a non-voting board member.
"It's chaos and confusion," said Grimes.
But a half-dozen county clerks said Grimes is making much ado about nothing.
"Your vote counted. The correct candidates were elected. All is well," said Fayette Co. Clerk Don Blevins.
The bipartisan group said errors are common, and are always corrected before the vote is certified.
The clerks blame Grimes for not revealing the mistakes to the board sooner.
"Normally that would have been done behind the scenes, taken care of so that the board doesn't even know. They just get the totals," said Blevins. "I think we have a little gamesmanship going on."
In a statement released by Grimes' office, McCreary Co. Clerk Eric Haynes disagreed.
"As McCreary County Clerk, I appreciate Secretary of State Grimes’ oversight and leadership in ensuring the State Board of Elections didn’t certify an inaccurate vote total report disenfranchising nearly 600 McCreary County voters,” said Haynes.
Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer pushed the bill limiting the Secretary of State's authority after published reports that Grimes improperly accessed voter rolls for political purposes, and abused her power.
"I think she's fabricating chaos to make herself look more relevant," Thayer said. "It just looks to me like she's grandstanding and trying to create chaos so she can say, 'Oh look House Bill 114 created chaos' when in fact it hasn't."
Grimes denied any wrongdoing, and pushed back against Thayer's criticism.
"Right now, I'm cleaning up Senator Thayer's mess," she said.
Grimes has filed a lawsuit challenging HB 114. Last week, a judge denied her motion to delay enforcement of the law while the suit moves forward.
The Board of Elections meets again on Friday to certify the election results.
Grimes said she will not attend the meeting because of previous commitments.
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