Attorney General Jack Conway reminds citizens that they can help ensure a fair and honest election on November 6 by utilizing his Election Fraud Hotline. The hotline is available throughout the year during normal business hours. On Election Day, investigators from the Attorney General’s Office will staff the hotline from 6 a.m. EST to 7 p.m. EST, while polls are open.
“My office is working hard to protect the integrity of the election process, but citizens also play an important role,” General Conway said. “We need voters to be our eyes and ears in polling places on Election Day and report any irregularities to our Election Fraud Hotline at 1-800-328-VOTE. Every complaint will be thoroughly reviewed and the appropriate enforcement action will be taken if any appear to be criminal in nature.”
In addition to the Election Fraud Hotline, General Conway will have investigators monitoring polling precincts across the state to immediately respond to voting irregularities and/or complaints.
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 the toll-free Election Fraud Hotline, investigates and prosecutes violations of Kentucky’s election laws and conducts post-election audits based on random selection in counties throughout the Commonwealth.
As a member of the Kentucky Election Fraud Task Force, General Conway’s office also works closely with the Secretary of State’s Office, U.S. Attorneys in the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky, Kentucky Board of Elections, Kentucky State Police and FBI to prevent and investigate allegations of vote fraud during elections.
“Our efforts are making a difference,” General Conway said. “Working jointly with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners, our investigations have resulted in more than a dozen convictions since 2010 related to voter fraud and vote buying.”
During the last presidential election in 2008, General Conway’s Election Fraud Hotline received a total of 450 calls, and/or complaints, during the primary and general elections. In the May 22 primary election earlier this year, the hotline received 38 calls from 18 counties. Two of the calls involved allegations of vote buying and selling.
The Attorney General’s Election Fraud Hotline is 1-800-328-VOTE (800-328-8683).
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 misdemeanor. See KRS 117.236.
