UNION, Ky. — A Boone County judge has denied a restraining order that would have prevented Union city commissioners from taking their seats on Jan. 1.
Union City Commissioner Doug Bine attempted to stop the newly-elected commissioners from swearing in after filing a lawsuit contesting the results of the November race.
The lawsuit claims hundreds of illegal votes in Boone County changed the outcome of the commissioner race, which he lost.
"At the end of the day, 518 people cast illegal votes, and they should not have been able to cast votes," his attorney Steven Megerle said. "It absolutely, unequivocally affected the outcome of the election."
Five candidates were running for four open seats. Bine lost by just 65 votes. His lawsuit claims more than 500 people illegally voted in Union Precinct 1 and Union Precinct 4.
READ MORE | Union City Commissioner contests November election, claims over 500 residents received wrong ballots
County Clerk Attorney Jeffery Mando said voters who are county residents were given the wrong ballot. He said that poll workers reported the issue immediately after the mistake.
"The poll worker just by mistake — human error, no fraud, no corruption, no intent motive — they just simply were pulling the ballot from the wrong stack," Mando said.
At the Boone County Justice Center, Judge Richard A. Brueggemann denied Bine's attempt to prevent new commissioners from taking their seats.
"A judge's duty is to rule what the law is not what he thinks it should be," he said. "I shouldn't stick my finger in the air and what I think is the best way to fix this."
Megerle said they will keep researching as the contesting process continues.
"The more that we pull back the onion, we keep finding things. One of the things that came up today in some of the research was what did the board of elections tell the grand jury about the election that happened?" Megerle said. "By statute, they're compelled to file a report with the grand jury and outline any irregularities. They filed that late."
They could all be back at the Boone County Justice Center next month. Mando said that the City of Union officials ultimately will make the decision on who will take the commissioner seats.
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