Request By:
Mr. Jarret A. Peters, Jr.
Insurors, Inc.
218 Main Cross Street
Louisa, Kentucky 41230
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Walter C. Herdman, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
This is in response to your letter of March 18 in which you relate that the sheriff of Lawrence County was removed from office on March 15, 1980, and the county judge appointed someone to fill the vacancy. Also, a magistrate in the county is due to be removed and replaced. Under the circumstances, you raise the question as to whether or not the ones appointed to fill the referred to vacancies are entitled to serve for the full unexpired term.
Section 152 of the Constitution controls the filling of all vacancies in elective offices. This section requires an election to fill a vacancy at the next regular election for state or local officers that embrace the area in which the vacancy incurred provided the term does not end that year, and provided the vacancy occurs more than three (3) months prior to the November election. See
Smith v. Ruth, 308 Ky. 60, 212 S.W.2d 532 (1948).
Under the circumstances, the vacancy in the office of sheriff which occurred March of this year must be filled at the November, 1980 election for the unexpired term since at that election the voters of the state must elect presidential electors who are considered statewide officers, thus, complying with the constitutional mandate that there must be a regular election embracing the area in which the vacancy has occurred. See
Smith v. Ruth, supra.
Also, since the vacancy in the office of sheriff has occurred more than seventy (70) days before the primary, KRS 118.115 would require any person seeking party nomination to run in the coming May primary and to file his notification and declaration paper not less than fifty-five (55) days before the primary which would be not later than April 2. See KRS 118.165.
The above procedure would also apply to any vacancy occurring in the office of magistrate except that if the vacancy occurs less than seventy (70) days before the primary and prior to three (3) months preceding the November election, no primary could be held and the major political parties would then have the right to make a nomination not less than fifty-five (55) days before the General Election. See KRS 118.115. Also, any person desiring to run as an independent would be permitted to file a nomination petition up until the 55-day deadline which would be not later than September 10, 1980.