Adams, 102820 KYAGO, AGO OAG 20-16

• Case Date: October 28, 2020
• Court: Kentucky

Secretary of State Michael G. Adams AGO OAG 20-16 No. OAG 20-16 Kentucky Attorney General Opinion Commonwealth of Kentucky Office of the Attorney General October 28, 2020          Subject: Is the 100-foot electioneering ban contained in KRS 117.235(3)(a) measured from the entrance to the polling place or from the voters in line at a polling place?          Requested by: Secretary of State Michael G. Adams          Written by: Marc Manley          Charles A. English          Assistant Attorneys General          Syllabus: KRS 117.235(3)(a) prohibits electioneering within 100 feet of the entrance of a polling place.          Opinion of the Attorney General          Amid the current public health emergency caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), and given recommendations on social distancing measures and reduced polling locations, voters may encounter long lines at their polling places. For that reason, Secretary of State Michael G. Adams asks whether the 100-foot electioneering ban contained in KRS 117.235(3)(a) is measured from the entrance to the polling place or from the voters in line at a polling place. Based on the statutory text, the Attorney General concludes that the 100-foot electioneering ban found in KRS 117.235(3)(a) is measured from the entrance to a polling place.          As the Supreme Court of Kentucky has noted, “the first rule of statutory interpretation is that the text of the statute is supreme.” Owen v. Univ. of Kentucky, 486 S.W.3d 266, 270 (Ky. 2016). Here, KRS 117.235 explicitly prohibits...