On March 30, 2006, Governor Ernie Fletcher signed House Bill 301, sponsored by Rep. Adrian Arnold (D-Mount Sterling), relating to Kentucky elections. The Bill prohibits the paying of individuals based upon the number of voters registered and designates the violation of the law as a Class B misdemeanor. ("Pay-per-card" voter registration techniques ran rampant across the country in previous elections.) The bill also addresses electioneering by creating an electioneering-free zone around polling locations, governs in-house absentee voting, and gives the State Board of Elections the authority to pass necessary regulations to allow exceptions to the electioneering ban for items such as bumper stickers.
"Pay-per-card" voter registration is when individuals are paid for each voter registration card they return to a sponsoring organization. Most commonly, the individuals gathering their registration cards fill out cards for imaginary individuals or duplicated registrations in order to increase their payment.
Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson thanked Chairman Arnold & Damon Thayer (R-Georgetown) for shepherding HB 301 through the legislative process.
