Walker said after losing Tuesday he was scrapping plans to file his own election complaint alleging that Ellis conspired to entrap him by soliciting the job offer and is misusing state resources in his campaign.

As the state's chief elections officer, Herbert must review election complaints and determine if they merit further investigation by a special counsel appointed by the attorney general's office.

Herbert said there's confusion surrounding his role. as well as that of the attorney general's office.

The elections-code violation alleged by Ellis carries a civil penalty of removing the violator from office, Herbert said, and any criminal prosecution of what would be a Class B misdemeanor would have to be dealt with separately. Another option is for a voter to contest the election results.

Herbert said he had no second thoughts about how he handled the case.

"Clearly, it's a hot potato, and I could have very easily dumped it into somebody else's lap and said, 'Ha, ha,'," he said. "But that's not right."

The lieutenant governor said his office is reviewing whether changes should be made in how such complaints are handled, suggesting one possible recommendation could be changing the law to directing them to a court instead of his office.

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