Lexington candidate had to convince election officials dogs ate her primary ballot

A Kentucky woman was allowed to vote after convincing the board of elections that her dogs ate her and her husband’s absentee ballots.

Christine Stanley, a 34-year-old Lexington health care attorney, voted in the Democratic primary at Kroger Field but only after getting out of line and going before the board of elections.

After showing the board evidence, including “lots of bite marks, drool and dirt,” she and her husband were allowed to vote, and Stanley said she voted for herself for the Urban County Council seat she is seeking, for Charles Booker in the Democratic primary to challenge Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell and for Democrat Josh Hicks to run against Republican Rep. Andy Barr.

Stanley, who is Black, said race didn’t really play a part in her choice of Booker.

“Charles Booker has legislative experience, and I think that he has seen firsthand what Kentucky needs,” she said. She believes McGrath should start at the state legislative level and try again in a few years.

Stanley is one of four candidates in the still undecided District 4 primary race for Lexington’s Urban County Council. Her opponents are Jessica Mohler, the communications and marketing director for the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning; Hannah LeGris, a career counselor at the University of Kentucky; and Charles D. Smith, a retired workforce employment specialist and former city employee. The top two vote-getters move on to the November general election.

Mail-in absentee ballots have yet to be fully counted and/or disclosed in Fayette and other counties.

This story was originally published June 24, 2020 at 10:10 AM.