23-ORD-151
June 29, 2023
In re: Laura O’Brien/Caldwell County Clerk
Summary: The Caldwell County Clerk (the “Clerk”) did not violate the
Open Records Act (“the Act”) when she did not respond to a request to
inspect records she did not receive.
Open Records Decision
On May 23, 2023, Laura O’Brien (“Appellant”) emailed two requests to the
Clerk to inspect various records relating to the May 2023 primary elections.1 Having
received no response by June 1, 2023, the Appellant initiated this appeal.
Under KRS 61.880(1), upon receiving a request for records under the Act, a
public agency “shall determine within five (5) [business] days . . . after the receipt of
any such request whether to comply with the request and shall notify in writing the
person making the request, within the five (5) day period, of its decision.” On appeal,
the Clerk explains she did not receive the Appellant’s request because it had been
emailed to the previous clerk’s email address. The Clerk provided the Appellant with
the correct email address to submit her requests. Because the Clerk did not receive
the Appellant’s requests, she did not violate the Act by failing to respond to them
within five business days.
1
Specifically, the Appellant sought video surveillance tapes of the election machines from 6:00 p.m.
on May 16, 2023, to 6:00 p.m. on May 17, 2023. The Appellant also sought, “in spreadsheet format (.csv
or .xlsx) [the Clerk’s] complete voter sign-in rosters for every precinct, absentee, early, and election
day voters from the May 2023,” as well as “supplemental rosters for the May 2023 primary if any
exist.”A party aggrieved by this decision may appeal it by initiating an action in the
appropriate circuit court under KRS 61.880(5) and KRS 61.882 within 30 days from
the date of this decision. Under 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. The Attorney General will accept notice of the complaint
emailed to OAGAppeals@ky.gov.
Daniel Cameron
Attorney General
s/ Marc Manley
Marc Manley
Assistant Attorney General
#224
Distributed to:
Laura O’Brien
Jennifer Watson