LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Kentucky Supreme Court has disqualified Incumbent State Rep. Nima Kulkarni (D-Louisville) from May's primary election.
On Friday, Kulkarni's Attorney, James Craig, released a statement saying:
"We thank the Supreme Court for their review of our position. Because there is now a vacancy in the nomination, it falls to the Jefferson County Democratic Party and the party officers for the 40th district to nominate a candidate. Rep. Kulkarni will certainly seek that nomination, and she is eligible for it."
Kulkarni has served in the role since 2018, after beating former Democrat state Rep. Dennis Horlander.
The court agreed that Kulkarni filed improper paperwork when she planned to run for office again.
On May 20, the state Supreme Court ruled that Kulkarni was allowed to be on the ballot for Kentucky's House District 40 race. This came after the Kentucky Court of Appeals reversed a lower court ruling and disqualified Kulkarni for filing improper paperwork when she decided to run.
According to the appeals court's ruling, Kulkarni filed for reelection in January of this year. That paperwork requires two witness signatures from registered voters of the same party.
One of the witnesses, however, was a registered Republican at the time she signed the form, according to the court. The ruling said the witness didn’t change her party affiliation until days later.
Ashley Tinius, with the Jefferson County Clerk's Office, said at this point, they assume her opponent William Zeitz will be declared the nominee as no person has been certified yet due to the court action.
"We don't believe the Democratic party can pick a replacement, as there is no official nominee yet," Tinius said. "The Supreme Court is expected to address this in the full opinion they have promised."
The Supreme Court of Kentucky said they will "render an opinion in due course."
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