Request By:
Mr. William L. Wheeler
Sheriff of Carroll County
Carrollton, Kentucky 41008
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Walter C. Herdman, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
This is in answer to your letter of February 21 in which you seek an opinion concerning the following:
". . . what's the duties and powers of a County Sheriff on Election Day who is a Candidate for another public office, also the same information for the powers and duties of a Deputy Sheriff in the same situation."
As sheriff you are automatically a member of the county board of elections, pursuant to KRS 117.035, which is required to remain in session on election day to correct clerical errors and rule on questions regarding voter registration. However, when the sheriff is a candidate for another public office, he cannot serve as a member of the county board of elections under the terms of the referred to statute, which provides, in effect, that no member of the county board can be a candidate to be voted for at the election. Where such disqualification exists, the statute requires that the two (2) appointed party members of the county board appoint a commissioner to serve in the place of the sheriff during the period of his ineligibility.
Under the circumstances, if you are a candidate for public office, you cannot serve on a county board during the period of your candidacy.
Other than membership on the county board of elections, the sheriff has no election day duties to perform. He may, of course, be called to a precinct on election day where a disturbance is in progress, in which case he acts solely in his capacity as sheriff.
A deputy sheriff has no election day duties and theoretically would not be disqualified from being appointed in the place of the sheriff to serve on the county board of elections, assuming that he himself is not a candidate for public office.