Top two vote getters move on to general election in contested Lexington council race

A Fayette Circuit Court judge has ruled Brenda Monarrez and Brack Marquette will be on the November ballot in the contested Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council District 4 race.

The race for the district that includes areas south of New Circle Road between Nicholasville and Tates Creek roads has been up in the air since the May 17 primary when voters in two precincts got the incorrect ballots.

The margin of error between the three candidates was slim:

• Monarrez received 1,121 votes
• Marquette received 908 votes
• Barry Saturday received 865 votes

The contested council race eventually ended up in the Fayette Circuit Court.

In his ruling released Thursday, Fayette Circuit Court Judge Thomas Travis said there was no way for the Fayette County Clerk’s office to know which ballots had been cast incorrectly due to the anonymity of the voting process.

The error was administrative. Roughly 33 voters cast ballots in Council District 3 when they should have voted in District 4. Roughly 37 voters cast ballots in District 4 that should not have been allowed to vote in that district due to the error.

A voter noticed the error and notified precinct workers on May 17.

Saturday argued in court documents and in court hearings that Travis could order that all three candidates move on to the November general election given the ballot mix-ups.

In the case of clerical errors, Kentucky law limits what judges can do, Travis wrote in the ruling. Travis ordered a re-canvass, which checks vote tabulations, earlier this summer. That re-canvass showed the same result. The law also says if a voter receives the wrong ballot, it is up to the voter to notify election officials, Travis wrote.

“The court recognizes that voting is one of the most important privileges and duties a citizen possesses,” Travis wrote. “It is for that reason that the court acknowledges that it is not ideal for voters (or candidates, for that matter) to be penalized for clerical or administrative errors.”

“However, as noted previously, the voters provided the incorrect ballots possessed a duty to be aware of any possible errors in the listed races and candidates and then bring those errors to the attention of the election officers at their polling site,” Travis wrote.

Saturday said he was disappointed in the decision but said Travis wrote a thorough and thoughtful opinion.

“While I am disappointed with the outcome of the ruling, I believe Lexington is lucky to have such a talented legal mind as Judge Travis on the bench,” Saturday said.

Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council races are nonpartisan. The fourth council district seat is an open seat. Councilwoman Susan Lamb, who was first elected to the position in 2014, announced last year she was not going to run for re-election.

This story was originally published July 28, 2022 at 3:38 PM.

Beth Musgrave

Lexington Herald-Leader

Beth Musgrave has covered government and politics for the Herald-Leader for more than a decade. A graduate of Northwestern University, she has worked as a reporter in Kentucky, Indiana, Mississippi, Illinois and Washington D.C. Support my work with a digital subscription