ACLU questions Jefferson County clerk after abortion amendment left off ballot

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky is asking Jefferson County Clerk Bobbie Holsclaw to ensure that all ballots for the Nov. 8 election are complete following a report Friday that the constitutional amendment on abortion was missing from at least one mail-in ballot.

Corey Shapiro, ACLU legal director, told Holsclaw in a letter Monday the ACLU is asking the office to take "additional steps" to protect the voting rights of Jefferson County voters despite the office's claim it is aware of only one flawed ballot among more than 15,000 mail-in ballots distributed.

It asks:

• That the office provide a "full accounting of the misprinting error" that apparently led to the amendment being left off a ballot.

• That ballots to be used for in-person voting be checked to ensure they have no errors.

• That any mail-in ballots returned that don't include the amendment be "segregated," a step "critical" to determine whether they affected the outcome of a potentially close election.

• That the clerk's office provide a list of all Jefferson County voters who requested a mail-in ballot accessible to any campaign working on the amendment measure.

The letter also asks whether the clerk's office will notify any voter whose ballot is deemed defective and whether there will be an opportunity to fix it.

With the election just eight days away, the ACLU asks the clerk's office to reply by 5 p.m. Nov. 1.

"It is the right of every eligible Kentuckian to participate in safe, free and fair elections," Shapiro's letter said. "We sympathize with clerical errors but require the above information and actions to ensure the ideals of our democracy are reached."

More:On Election Day, you'll decide whether to ban abortion in Kentucky. Here's what to know

Erran Huber, a spokesman for Holsclaw, said Monday the clerk's office has received no further reports other than from the single voter who said the amendment had left off a mail-in ballot and had so informed representatives of the ACLU.

He said the office would respond to the organization's letter and appreciates the concern.

"Every vote — and every voter — matters to the Jefferson County Board of Elections," Huber said. "We appreciate interest in our free, fair, and secure election process and we are glad to answer their questions in an open and transparent manner, so that everyone can be assured of the facts: that votes cast in Jefferson County count and that the Board of Elections will always work to resolve any issue brought to attention."

Constitutional Amendment 2 is one of the most high-profile items on the Nov. 8 ballot.

If approved by voters, it would establish that the Kentucky Constitution provides no right to abortion and would block pending legal challenges to try to establish it as a state right. Opponents say defeating the amendment is the best chance of restoring abortion rights in Kentucky.

Abortion has been banned in Kentucky, except in case of medical emergency, since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade on June 24.

Holsclaw's office acknowledged Friday it had received a report from one voter that the constitutional amendment was left off a mail-in ballot.

Huber said the amendment was apparently left off that voter's ballot because of an error in a printer setting that has been corrected.

He added the office has "not found another instance of this issue or had a report of this issue" after a review of other ballots that had already been returned or not yet distributed.

More:Anti-abortion legislators allege 'massive misinformation campaign' on Kentucky amendment

Jefferson County has 636,981 registered voters and sent out 15,712 mail-in ballots, Huber said.

Holsclaw, a Republican, herself will be on the ballot Nov. 8. She is seeking reelection to a sixth term as county clerk, a post she has held since 1998.

Her challenger in the election, Democrat Tina Ward-Pugh, criticized Holsclaw on Friday for the ballot error, calling it "unacceptable."

"No voter should ever be given a ballot that is missing any race or ballot question," Ward-Pugh said in a statement. "The county clerk cannot make these mistakes. Bobbie Holsclaw needs to answer how it is that a top issue for her anti-choice party was left off ballots in the most pro-choice county in the state."

Huber said any voter who believes there is a problem with a ballot and wants to replace it should visit or call the Jefferson County Clerk Election Center at 1000 E. Liberty St. by dialing (502) 574-6100.

The ballot will be "spoiled," or discarded, and the voter issued a new one, Huber said. That's what the office did for the voter who reported the missing amendment.

Or voters may simply write in their vote on the amendment and it will be counted following review by a bipartisan election team, he said.

Voters with questions about absentee ballots or any other aspect of the election can call the Election Protection Hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE, a coalition of organizations that include Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, the Kentucky Civic Engagement Table and the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky.

Kentucky's one-sentence amendment proposal states:

"To protect human life, nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion."

Contact reporter Deborah Yetter at dyetter@courier-journal.com or on Twitter at @d_yetter.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky amendment 2: Holsclaw office leaves amendment off ballot