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 fellow Democrats.
Franklin County Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd ruled Monday that Grimes legally accessed the data while “acting within the scope of her public duties” as secretary of state.
“It is unclear how the commission can sanction the Commonwealth’s chief election official for accessing voter data, or downloading it to a flash drive when it has failed to identify any illegal or unethical use of such data,” it said. Shepherd in his command.
Grimes was fined $10,000 after the state Board of Ethics Commission said she committed ethics violations by improperly ordering the download and distribution of voter registration data. The judge’s reversal of the order means Grimes will not have to pay the fine.
Jon Salomon, one of Grimes’ attorneys, said Tuesday that the ruling vindicated Grimes.
“Secretary Grimes should never have been investigated for simply doing the job Kentucky voters elected her to do twice, and the court rightly acquitted her of all charges,” he said in a statement.
The committee said Tuesday that it is investigating the matter.
Grimes was seen as a rising political star when she was first elected secretary of state in 2011. In 2014, she launched a high-profile challenge against longtime Republican U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell but was defeated. She rebounded to win re-election as secretary of state in 2015, when Republicans claimed the most statewide offices. The only other Democrat to win that year was Andy Beshear, who was then elected attorney general and is 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 in downloading and sharing voter 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 by sharing voter registration information for state House districts, all without complying with public records rules or to collect fees.
Shepherd ruled that the allegations were “arbitrary and without the support of substantial evidence.” The judge said there is no law or regulation that prevents her from accessing or sharing the information.
He noted that the long-running case required “exhaustive” investigations by the ethics committee and the attorney general’s office, after which “there was no allegation of any substantial violation of any statute or regulation relating to the integrity of the voting rolls.”
Republican Michael Adams succeeded Grimes as Kentucky secretary of state. Adams’ office learned Tuesday of the changes made to state law in response to the allegations against his predecessor.
“Because of the scandals that preceded Secretary Adams in this office, the General Assembly limited direct access to voter records in 2019, and our administration has followed the letter and spirit of the law,” Adams’ spokeswoman, Michon Lindstrom, said in a statement.
The judge also ruled that the ethics committee had failed to comply with the statute of limitations in bringing the claims against Grimes.
The commission’s indictment followed a 2019 series by the Lexington Herald-Leader and ProPublica. The two news organizations published stories about Grimes’ behavior as secretary of state.