BILL STONE V. DONALD L. BARNARD; TAXPAYERS PARTY OF KENTUCKY; REBECCA JACKSON; JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS; STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS; AND JOHN Y. BROWN, III
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RENDERED:
SEPTEMBER 10, 1996; 2:00 P.M.
ORDERED NOT TO BE PUBLISHED BY THE KENTUCKY SUPREME COURT:
NOVEMBER 13, 1996 (96-SC-890
96-CA-2400-I
BILL STONE
MOVANT
ON MOTION FOR RELIEF UNDER KRS 118.176(4)
FROM JEFFERSON CIRCUIT COURT
HONORABLE GEOFFREY P. MORRIS, JUDGE
ACTION NO. 96-CI-4848
V.
DONALD L. BARNARD;
TAXPAYERS PARTY OF KENTUCKY;
REBECCA JACKSON; JEFFERSON COUNTY
BOARD OF ELECTIONS; STATE BOARD OF
ELECTIONS; AND JOHN Y. BROWN, III
RESPONDENTS
OPINION AND ORDER
* * * * * * * * * *
BEFORE:
COMBS, DYCHE and JOHNSTONE, Judges.
JOHNSTONE, JUDGE.
This matter is before the Court on the
motion of Bill Stone, made pursuant to KRS 118.176(4) seeking to
set aside the final order of the Jefferson Circuit Court
permitting Donald L. Barnard on the November ballot as an
independent candidate for Congress in the 3rd Congressional
District.
Both Donald L. Barnard and the State Board of
Elections have filed responses objecting to the motion.
Although movant raised several issues in the trial
court, his motion before this Court is limited to the trial
court's ruling that the signatures of four voters could be
counted even though the voters themselves did not sign the
petition.
Rather, the signatures were written on the petitions
by the voters' respective spouses with the permission of the
voter and in the presence of the voter.
validity of those four signatures.
Movant challenges the
Since the trial court found
that the petition contained only 402 valid signatures, deducting
the four voters whose spouses signed the petition would leave
Mr. Barnard with only 398 signatures, less than the 400 required
by KRS 118.315(2).
The Court is aware of the existence of case law
upholding the use of "signatures" written by another in the
presence of and by the parol authority of the named party.
See,
Widick v. Pursifull, 299 Ky. 733, 187 S.W.2d 447 (1945), and
Boyd v. Alexander, Ky., 284 S.W.2d 85 (1955).
However, we
cannot agree that principles expressed in those cases can be
applied to the requirements of KRS 118.315.
The current version
of KRS 118.315(2) as enacted in 1974 and most recently amended
in 1992 states in pertinent part:
The form of the petition shall be
prescribed by the State Board of Elections.
It shall be signed by the candidate and by
registered voters from the district or
jurisdiction from which the candidate seeks
nomination.
(Emphasis added.)
The statutory requirement that a petition of
nomination be signed by registered voters from the district or
jurisdiction in question must be strictly construed.
Substantial compliance with the numerical requirements of the
statute has been specifically proscribed in Thomas v. Lyons,
Ky., 586 S.W.2d 711 (1979).
We must also strictly construe this
statute to require that the voter who wishes to support the
nomination of a candidate be required to sign the petition.
permit
To
"signatures" by the hand of persons other than the named
individuals is to invite abuse and to thwart the plain purpose
of the statutory requirements.
Allowing obviously interested
parties to attempt an after-the-fact shoring up of deficiencies
in the nominating petition can only serve to undermine the
integrity of the process the statute is designed to protect.
We therefore hold that under KRS 118.315(2) the
signature of the registered voter is required to be the voter's
own signature, verifiable by reference to the voter registration
roles.
Accordingly, the judgment of the circuit court
permitting Donald L. Barnard to appear on the November 1996
ballot as an Independent candidate is hereby SET ASIDE.
Because of the need to immediately print the ballots
for the general election, the Court ORDERS that this opinion and
order be rendered immediately upon receipt in the Clerk's Office.
ALL CONCUR.
ENTERED: September 10, 1996
/s/ Martin E. Johnstone
JUDGE, COURT OF APPEALS
MOTION FOR BILL STONE:
RESPONSE FOR SECRETARY OF
STATE AND THE STATE BOARD OF
ELECTIONS:
Donald H. Vish
H. Powell Starks
Louisville, KY
John E. Kuhn, Jr.
Frankfort, KY
Maryellen B. Allen
Asst. Attorney General
Frankfort, KY
RESPONSE FOR DONALD L.
BARNARD:
James D. Howes
Louisville, KY
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