PINEVILLE, Ky./EWORLDWIRE/Sep. 5, 2007 --- "The recent discovery by the Attorney General’s Office that voting machines in Jefferson County were not certified by the state is another indication that Republican Secretary of State, Trey Grayson is not up to performing his job as Kentucky's Chief Election Officer and needs to be replaced by the voters in the November election," said Bruce Hendrickson, former mayor of Pineville and Democratic nominee for Kentucky Secretary of State.Hendrickson further said, "It seems to me that the current Secretary of State is too dependent upon the office of Attorney General in performing his job as the Chief Election Officer."
The Secretary of State as Chief Election Officer should have a program of working with the County Clerks to make sure every voting machine in the Commonwealth is state certified. If he does not have the personnel to do the job, then the Secretary of State needs to let the General Assembly know that he has a problem. To date, Mr. Grayson has not contacted or testified before the General Assembly about having a problem addressing his ability to certify all the voting machines in Kentucky.
Mr. Grayson failed in 2004 to provide Kentuckians with a VVPT or Voter Verified Paper Trail. Change for Kentucky petitioned him with 3,200 signatures and a letter from Governor Howard Dean, asking Grayson to provide a VVPT. "Grayson denied Kentuckians that right, resutling in a situation that will, if nothing else, shake the public confidence in our election system. Now that it is election time, Grayson wants a VVPT, that will not fly."
As Secretary of State, Hendrickson plans to begin a comprehensive review how the Secretary of State can improve his work as Kentucky's Chief Election Officer. This includes formation of a County Clerks' Advisory Committee to assist the Secretary of State in administering elections and preventing fraud.
In the position of Secretary of State, Hendrickson believes that he as the Secretary of State should testify before the General Assembly to help it understand the challenges faced by local clerks in assisting the Secretary of State in holding elections. One of the major challenges is the lack of adequate funding for personnel and operations in the offices of the offices of the 120 county clerks. "Fair elections are essential to American Democracy. Operation of elections should be a priority in any state budget. This has not always been the case as in the example of the possibility of a primary run-off had some counties looking at financial bankruptcy," said Hendrickson.
"As Secretary of State, I will work with Steve Beshear and Dan Mongiardo to make sure that all legislation regarding the operation of elections is funded so that counties will not be facing even the possibility of bankruptcy in the future."
For Information, contact Hendrickson for Secretary of State Campaign at e-mail willshackleford@gmail.com or hendrickson4sos@mac.com
Paid for by the Candidate: Bruce Hendrickson Democratic Nominee for Kentucky Secretary of State
(Top)