Request By:
Secretary of State Michael G. Adams
Opinion
Opinion By: Daniel Cameron, ATTORNEY GENERAL; Marc Manley, Charles A. English, Assistant Attorneys General
Opinion of the Attorney General
Amid the current public health emergency caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), and given recommendations on social distancing measures and reduced polling locations, voters may encounter long lines at their polling places. For that reason, Secretary of State Michael G. Adams asks whether the 100-foot electioneering ban contained in KRS 117.235(3)(a) is measured from the entrance to the polling place or from the voters in line at a polling place. Based on the statutory text, the Attorney General concludes that the 100-foot electioneering ban found in KRS 117.235(3)(a) is measured from the entrance to a polling place.
As the Supreme Court of Kentucky has noted, "the first rule of statutory interpretation is that the text of the statute is supreme."