Candidate for Lexington council says dog ate her absentee ballot

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - A Kentucky woman was allowed to vote after convincing the board of elections that her dogs ate her and her husband’s absentee ballots.

Christine Stanley and her husband got their ballots during the weekend. Stanley said the mail was dropped where the dogs could reach it, not in its ordinary spot.

“The only mail that we got that day was our absentee ballots and we went and we found them, ripped up!” she said.

Stanley called the Fayette County Clerk’s office the following Monday.

“They were like, ‘Oh, don’t worry about it, just tape it up and submit it the same way as you would,’” she said.

After taking a harder look at their slobbery, punctured and torn ballots, they decided it was best they vote in person.

“When we called again to try to vote in person, we were told that clerks would be at the polling place,” she said.

Stanley said there were clerks at Kroger Feld, but they told her they didn’t have the authority to cancel her original ballot. She and her husband went to the board of elections to get permission to vote.

The 34-year-old Lexington health care attorney, said that after showing the board evidence, including “lots of bite marks, drool, and dirt,” she and her husband were allowed to vote Tuesday.

She said she was content with having to go before the board of elections to plead her case.

“You don’t want people being able to do double ballots, especially with the absentee ballot, you want to preserve the integrity of that system,” she said.

Stanley said she and her husband were fortunate to have flexible work schedules, and a vehicle to take them to the polling place, unlike some voters, who relied on buses or ride share programs.

“If you consider the folks that use their one Lyft allocation, that whole rigmarole probably would’ve frustrated and dissuaded a lot of people from voting,” Stanley said.

Stanley said she voted for herself for the Urban County Council seat she is seeking, Charles Booker in the Democratic primary to challenge Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell and Democrat Josh Hicks to run against Republican Rep. Andy Barr.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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