District 88 voters deserve a real choice in November | Opinion

I learned early in life that justice is not something you watch from a distance. You show up for it. You speak when it would be easier to stay quiet. And you accept that doing the right thing is not always comfortable.

As a child, I learned what it means to stand in rooms where decisions are made about your life, even when you have little power over the outcome. Later, I stood in Frankfort as a grieving daughter, asking lawmakers not to let the man who killed my mother walk free. Those experiences taught me something I have never forgotten: if you do not speak up, decisions are made without you.

That is why I am speaking up now.

I am the Democratic nominee for Kentucky House District 88, representing parts of Fayette and Scott counties. I was certified by the Secretary of State in January 2026 and ran unopposed in the primary.

Nearly three months after that certification, and just weeks before ballots were printed, Dwight Butler of Georgetown and Bryan Campbell of Lexington filed a lawsuit seeking to remove me from the ballot. Both have financially supported my opponent, according to public records on file with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance.

Their claim involves a paperwork issue tied to a co-signer’s voter registration. It was corrected the same day it was raised. There was no contested primary in this race, and not a single voter has come forward to say they were misled or harmed.

On May 13, a Scott Circuit Court judge ruled against me. On May 19, my attorney filed an appeal with the Kentucky Court of Appeals. A decision is now pending.

What happens next is not just a legal dispute. It is about whether voters in District 88 will have a meaningful choice on the ballot in November.

If the ruling stands, my opponent will be the only name listed on the ballot. Not the only Republican. The only candidate.

In 2024, more than 23,000 people voted in this race. The margin of victory was just 214 votes. A district this closely divided deserves a contest, not a coronation.

That should concern everyone, regardless of party. If it can happen here over a clerical issue that was fixed the same day, it can happen anywhere.

Elections are supposed to be where voters decide outcomes, not where outcomes are decided before voters ever arrive. You cannot call it an election if voters are left with no real option.

This is not about one candidate or one party. It is about whether voters still have the power to choose who represents them.

I am not asking for special treatment. I am asking for a fair election and for the people of District 88 to have a voice in November.

I have spent years showing up for the communities I am part of, doing the work and standing up for others. I will not step aside while voters are pushed aside.

District 88 deserves a real election. Fayette and Scott County voters deserve a choice. And I will keep fighting until they have one.

Alisha Chaffin is a candidate for Kentucky 88th House District who was disqualified prior to the May primary election. She is appealing the disqualification.

This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 12:09 PM.