Request By:
Ms. Carla R. Boyd, Clerk
Floyd County Court
P.O. Box 1089
Prestonsburg, Kentucky 41653
Opinion
Opinion By: David L. Armstrong, Attorney General; Walter C. Herdman, Asst. Deputy Attorney General
This is in response to your letter of May 11 in which you raise the following question?
"Does the Fiscal Court of a county have the authority (legally) to take charge of the storing, transporting and setting up of voting machines for that county's election? "
Our response to your question would be in the negative. The custody of the voting machines is vested exclusively in the county clerk pursuant to KRS 117.135 which reads as follows:
"When voting machines are acquired by any county, they shall be immediately placed in the custody of the county clerk, and shall remain in his custody at all times except when in use at an election or when in the custody of a court or court officer during contest proceedings. The clerk shall see that the machines are properly protected and preserved from damage or unnecessary deterioration, and shall not permit any unauthorized person to tamper with the machines. "
Aside from the above quoted statute giving the clerk complete authority and control of the voting machines, we also refer you to certain related statutes, such as KRS 117.145 concerning the preparation of the ballot labels, KRS 117.155 concerning the arrangement of the ballot labels on the voting machines, KRS 117.165 relating to the preparation and examination of the machines by the clerk and the county board of elections, KRS 117.195 requiring the clerk to deliver the machines to the various precincts, and KRS 117.295 concerning the period the clerk must see that the machines remain locked and the fact that the keys to the machines during such period must remain in the possession of the county board of elections and after which the keys are returned to the county clerk.
Under the circumstances, the fiscal court has no authority or control over the custody and handling of the voting machines as this is the basic responsibility of the county clerk as indicated above.