Request By:
Honorable Samuel E. Davies
Attorney at Law
P.O. Box 537
Barbourville, Kentucky 40906
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; Walter C. Herdman, Asst. Deputy Attorney General
This is in response to your letter of September 7 in which you relate the following facts and question:
"I represent a group of individuals in Knox County who have petitioned the County Judge Executive pursuant to KRS 67.050 to place the following question on the ballot: 'Are you for or against having a fiscal court composed of three (3) commissioners and a county judge executive?' There is some concern of how this question should appear on 'no' response from the voters does not answer the question. I am wondering if on the ballot the voters response should be 'for' or 'against.'"
KRS 67.050 specifically provides, as you have indicated, that a vote is to be taken "for or against" having a fiscal court composed of three commissioners and a county judge/executive. The general rule is that where a statute describes a form in which a question should be submitted for a popular vote, the statute must strictly be followed. 26 Am. Jur., Elections, Sec. 221. See also Alswell v. Cooper, 266 Ky. 524, 99 S.W.2d 709 (1936). It is also the rule that the ballot question must be in such form that the voter will be able to vote to approve or disapprove the measure free of any uncertainty or ambiguity. See 26 C.J.S., Elections, Sec. 170.
Because of the language of the question stated in the statute, the voters would have a vote "for" or "against" the question as a "yes" or "no" vote would, as you say, not answer the question.