Judge clears former Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes of ethics charges

FRANKFORT, Ky. Former Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes has been cleared of ethics charges stemming from allegations that the former Democratic rising star abused her access to voter registration data to benefit herself and other Democrats.

Franklin County Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd ruled Monday that Grimes lawfully accessed the data while “acting within the scope of her public duties” as secretary of state.

“It is unclear how the commission can penalize the Commonwealth’s chief electoral officer for having access to voter data, or for downloading it to a flash drive, when it has failed to identify any illegal or unethical use of such data,” Shepherd said in your order.

Grimes faced a $10,000 fine after the state Executive Branch Ethics Commission said she committed ethical violations by improperly ordering the download and distribution of voter registration data. The judge’s reversal of the commission’s order means Grimes will not have to pay the fine.

Jon Salomon, one of Grimes’ attorneys, said Tuesday that the decision vindicated Grimes.

“Secretary Grimes should never have been investigated for simply doing the job Kentucky voters twice elected her to do, and the court appropriately cleared her of all charges,” he said in a statement.

The commission said Tuesday it is looking into the matter.

Grimes was seen as a rising political star when she was first elected secretary of state in 2011. She mounted a high-profile challenge against longtime Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell in 2014 but was defeated. She recovered and was re-elected as secretary of state in 2015, when Republicans claimed a majority of statewide offices. The only other Democrat to win that year was Andy Beshear, then elected attorney general and now in his second term as governor.

The ethics commission’s allegations against Grimes stemmed from activities in 2015 and 2016. Grimes was accused of failing to follow government processes for downloading and sharing election information.

She was accused of acting unethically by instructing her employees to download voter information onto flash drives while she was running for re-election and sharing voter registration information for state precincts, all without complying with open records rules or charging fees.

Shepherd ruled that the allegations were “arbitrary and unsupported by substantial evidence.” The judge said there is no law or regulation that prohibits her from accessing or sharing the information.

He noted that the long-running matter drew “exhaustive” investigations by the ethics commission and the state attorney general’s office, after which “there were no allegations concerning any substantive violation of any statute or regulation relating to the integrity of the notebooks. of voting.”

Republican Michael Adams succeeded Grimes as Kentucky’s secretary of state. Adams’ office on Tuesday noted changes made to state law in response to the allegations against his predecessor.

“Because of the scandals that preceded Secretary Adams in this role, the General Assembly in 2019 limited direct access to the election file, and our administration has followed the letter and spirit of the law,” said Adams spokeswoman Michon Lindstrom , in a statement.

The judge also ruled that the ethics committee did not meet the statute of limitations when bringing charges against Grimes.

The commission’s charges followed a 2019 series from the Lexington Herald-Leader and ProPublica. Both news organizations published stories about Grimes’ conduct as secretary of state.