Two of the defendants not included in the motion filed Wednesday have asked U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell to postpone an Oct. 4 trial date until next year. Their motion cites publicity generated by the recent conviction of Pikeville political fund-raiser Ross Harris and an employee in a separate but related trial.

The four campaign workers listed in the prosecutors' motion to drop all charges are Bobby Roy Justice, 54, of Pikeville; Jacky Darrell Smith, 51, of Ransom; Taylor Slone of Phyllis; and David Dotson, 41, of Varney.

Slone's attorney, Benny Hicks of Lexington, said defendants named in the dismissal motion appeared to have a "lesser involvement" in the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Taylor on Thursday cited the logistics of trying eight people, the strength of the evidence, and results of the previous trial.

"This is essentially a repeat of that trial," Taylor said. "For all those reasons we decided to winnow it down to the four defendants. It will make for a much more streamlined trial."

Testimony in the Harris trial indicated that none of the four listed in the motion for dismissal attended a meeting in his Pikeville coal office where prosecutors say the vote-fraud conspiracy was hatched.

During 17 days of testimony, Harris was described as a political kingmaker who illegally funded two eastern Kentucky races in 2002.