By Associated Press - Tuesday, May 7, 2019

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - The Latest on a lawsuit filed by Kentucky’s secretary of state challenging a law scaling back her authority (all times local):

11:55 a.m.

A top Senate Republican in Kentucky is criticizing the secretary of state for going to court to challenge a new law removing her power over the State Board of Elections.

Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer said Tuesday it’s another example of Democrats suing when they’re on the losing side in the legislature.

Thayer is among the GOP legislative leaders named as defendants in the suit.

House Speaker David Osborne, also named in the suit, says he’ll consult with his lawyers and “respond accordingly,” as he does with “all legal matters - no matter how frivolous.”

Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, a Democrat, says the law enacted by the GOP-led legislature amounts to an unconstitutional infringement of her executive authority.

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8:45 a.m.

Kentucky’s secretary of state has challenged a new state law removing her power over the State Board of Elections. Alison Lundergan Grimes claims the action by Republican lawmakers amounts to an unconstitutional infringement of her executive authority.

Grimes, a Democrat, warns that “confusion and uncertainty” will surround Kentucky’s May 21 primary election unless the law is invalidated.

Grimes filed the suit Monday in Franklin County Circuit Court. It seeks an injunction blocking the law’s implementation and a ruling that it violates Kentucky’s Constitution.

Some top Republican lawmakers are among the defendants. Their legislative offices didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

The law removes the secretary of state as chairman and a voting member of the elections board. It also limits access by the secretary of state’s office to a database of registered voters.

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