Election Day delay? Probably not

Tuesday at 4 p.m. was the deadline to file to run for elected office in the upcoming May primary elections in Kentucky, but it’s possible that the filing deadline and the primary election itself, could get postponed due a legal challenge over of the state’s new redistricting laws.

There’s a good chance that might not happen though.

Last week Gov. Andy Beshear vetoed House Bill 2, which is the Kentucky House of Representatives redistricting bill, and Senate Bill 3, which is the Congressional redistricting bill. Democrats then filed suit challenging the legality of those redistricting bills.

Rep. Jerry Miller, R-Louisville, introduced House Bill 323 on Jan. 19 that would move the primary election from May 17 to Aug. 2 for just this year.

It would also extend the candidate filing deadline to May 31 for all candidates.

The filing deadline was previously extended from Jan. 7 to Jan. 25 because of the redistricting bills.

Every 10 years state legislatures redraw boundaries for legislative and Congressional seats based upon new population figures from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Miller has been quoted in other media outlets as saying that he doesn’t expect his bill to advance unless the redistricting bills get tied up for an extended period due to the litigation.

“Certainly we don’t want to move anything else,” added House Speaker David Osborne during a Jan. 21 press conference. “It is our hope not to have to move it again. I hope we can have this resolved in a few days and put everyone’s mind at ease on it.”

Whitley County Clerk Carolyn Willis said Tuesday morning that the Kentucky County Clerk’s Association had been in touch with legislative leadership, and it doesn’t appear that the bill will advance.

Willis said the law currently states that the filing deadline ends at 4 p.m. Tuesday, and that is what she planned to do.

“We are watching this bill, but at this time we do not believe this will change,” Willis added.