A Franklin Circuit Court judge issued an emergency injunction on Monday restoring 165,000 citizens who had been placed on Kentucky's inactive voter rolls to Kentucky's regular voter rolls. Judge Thomas Wingate heard heated arguments Monday morning in the case, in which the Kentucky Democratic Party asked for an emergency injunction taking the citizens off the inactive rolls.The controversy comes amid nationwide scrutiny of election integrity and just one year after many statewide elections were settled with a handful of votes."Anytime you make it harder or take longer to vote, you're disenfranchising voters," said Anna Whites, an attorney for the Kentucky Democratic Party, which brought the lawsuit against the Kentucky Board of Elections.Whites painted the move as voter suppression at worst and bungled voter roll cleanup at best. She argued the board failed to follow state law by not waiting two federal election cycles after voter notification attempts to move citizens to the inactive lists.The interpretation of that law was a matter of dispute, and the board's top official denied any allegations of voter suppression."This is not about disenfranchising voters in any way," said Jared Dearing, executive director of the Kentucky Board of Elections. "This is encouraging people to come out and vote, to avail themselves of that constitutional right, and make sure they're correctly receiving the ballot they should be getting."Attorneys for the board said they are trying to comply with a federal consent decree requiring Kentucky to clean up its voter rolls after a lawsuit brought in 2017 by the conservative group Judicial Watch.The group alleged 48 Kentucky counties had more registered voters than actual citizens over the age of 18.

A Franklin Circuit Court judge issued an emergency injunction on Monday restoring 165,000 citizens who had been placed on Kentucky's inactive voter rolls to Kentucky's regular voter rolls.

Judge Thomas Wingate heard heated arguments Monday morning in the case, in which the Kentucky Democratic Party asked for an emergency injunction taking the citizens off the inactive rolls.


The controversy comes amid nationwide scrutiny of election integrity and just one year after many statewide elections were settled with a handful of votes.

"Anytime you make it harder or take longer to vote, you're disenfranchising voters," said Anna Whites, an attorney for the Kentucky Democratic Party, which brought the lawsuit against the Kentucky Board of Elections.

Whites painted the move as voter suppression at worst and bungled voter roll cleanup at best. She argued the board failed to follow state law by not waiting two federal election cycles after voter notification attempts to move citizens to the inactive lists.

The interpretation of that law was a matter of dispute, and the board's top official denied any allegations of voter suppression.

"This is not about disenfranchising voters in any way," said Jared Dearing, executive director of the Kentucky Board of Elections. "This is encouraging people to come out and vote, to avail themselves of that constitutional right, and make sure they're correctly receiving the ballot they should be getting."

Attorneys for the board said they are trying to comply with a federal consent decree requiring Kentucky to clean up its voter rolls after a lawsuit brought in 2017 by the conservative group Judicial Watch.

The group alleged 48 Kentucky counties had more registered voters than actual citizens over the age of 18.