Opinion
Opinion By: Daniel Cameron, Attorney General; James M. Herrick, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
On July 27, 2021, Lyn Warner ("Appellant") requested that the Clerk's Office provide the names of the four registered voters residing at a certain address. The Clerk's office denied the request under KRS 61.878(1)(a). This appeal followed.
The Appellant claims that the Clerk's Office must provide the requested information under KRS 116.095, which provides that a county clerk "shall permit any citizen, at all reasonable hours, to inspect or make copies of any [voter] registration record, [and] shall, upon request, furnish to any citizen a copy of the registration records[.]" But the Appellant did not request inspection or copies of voter registration records. Rather, she requested information--the names of the registered voters at a particular address. The Act does not require public agencies to fulfill requests for information, but only requests for records. KRS 61.872;
Dept. of Revenue v. Eifler , 436 S.W.3d 530, 534 (Ky. App. 2013) ("The ORA does not dictate that public agencies must gather and supply information not regularly kept as part of its records."). Therefore, the Clerk's Office did not violate the Act when it denied the Appellant's request. 1
A party aggrieved by this decision may appeal it by initiating action in the appropriate circuit court pursuant to KRS 61.880(5) and KRS 61.882. Pursuant to KRS 61.880(3), the Attorney General shall be notified of any action in circuit court, but shall not be named as a party in that action or in any subsequent proceedings.
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