Kentucky

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State of Kentucky Elections & Voting

Election Day is November 5

  • October 7                    Deadline to complete voter registrations online (by 4:00pm), return in person (by close of business), or postmark mail-in registration forms
  • October 22                  Deadline to request an absentee ballot via the online portal
  • October 23                  First day of excused in-person absentee voting (must have reason to vote absentee)
  • October 30                  Last day of excused in-person absentee voting (must have reason to vote absentee)
  • October 31                  First day of no-excuse in-person absentee voting
  • November 2                Last day of no-excuse in-person absentee voting
  • November 5                Deadline for election authority to receive absentee ballots via mail
  • November 5                Election Day

 

To register to vote in Kentucky, you must:

  • Be a U.S. citizen and a Kentucky resident for at least 28 days before the election.
    • Non-U.S. citizens, including U.S. nationals do not qualify
  • Be 18 years old (You may register to vote in Kentucky as a 17-year-old if you will be 18 years old by the next General Election)
  • Not be a convicted felon (or, if convicted of a felony, your right to vote has been restored following an expungement, Executive Pardon, or Executive Order)
  • Not have been judged mentally incompetent in a court of law and have voting rights removed
  • Not claim the right to vote outside Kentucky

 

How to register to vote:

 

Voter ID Requirements

All voters must produce identification or be known by a precinct officer prior to voting.

​”Proof of identification” means a document that was issued by:
​(a) The United States or the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and the document contains:

  • The name of the individual to whom the document was issued;
  • A photograph of the individual to whom the document was issued;

​(b) The United States Department of Defense, a branch of the uniformed services, the Merchant Marine, or the Kentucky National Guard, and the document contains​:

  • ​​The name of the individual to whom the document was issued;
  • A photograph of the individual to whom the document was issued;

(c) A public or private college, university, or postgraduate technical or professional school located within the United States, and the document contains:

  • ​​​The name of the individual to whom the document was issued;
  • A photograph of the individual to whom the document was issued; or,

(d) Any city government, county government, urban-county government, charter county government, consolidated local government, or unified local government, which is located within this state, and the document contains:

  • The name of the individual to whom the document was issued;
  • A photograph of the individual to whom the document was issued.

Visit VoteRiders for more information on voter ID requirements in Kentucky.

 

Absentee Voting by Mail

Voters must request an absentee ballot using the state’s online portal.

Voters are eligible to receive an absentee ballot mailed to the residential address in the county in which they are registered if their completed application is received fourteen (14) days before an election and if the voter is:

  • Prevented from voting in person at the polls on election day and from casting an excused or no-excuse in-person absentee ballot on all days in-person absentee voting is conducted because he or she will be absent from the county of his or her residence all hours and all days excused or no-excuse in-person absentee voting is conducted;
  • A participant in the Secretary of State’s crime victim address confidentiality protection program as authorized by KRS 14.312​​; or
  • Not able to appear at the polls on election day or the days excused or no-excuse in-person absentee voting is conducted on the account of age, disability, or illness, and who has not been declared mentally disabled by a court of competent jurisdiction.

Voters are eligible to receive an absentee ballot mailed to a mailing address different than their residential address if their completed application is received fourteen (14) days before an election and if the voter is:

  • A resident of Kentucky who is a covered voter as defined in KRS 117A.010 (UOCAVA/military-overseas voter);
  • A student who temporarily resides outside the county of his or her residence;
  • Incarcerated in jail and charged with a crime, but has not been convicted of the crime;
  • Changing or has changed his or her place of residence to a different state while the registration books are closed in the new state of residence before an election of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, in which case the voter shall be permitted to cast a mail-in absentee ballot for electors for President and Vice President of the United States only; or
  • Temporarily residing outside the state but still eligible to vote in this state.

 

In-Person Absentee Early Voting

Kentucky has two different options for early voting: excuse and no-excuse.

Excuse: Voters otherwise eligible to vote on election day are eligible to vote an in-person absentee ballot during the six (6) business days immediately before the last Thursday occurring before election day if they meet one (1) of the following requirements: ​​

  • Voter who is a member of the Armed Forces or a dependent of a member of the Armed Forces and will be out of the county on election day and during the days of no-excuse in-person absentee voting.
  • Voter who is a citizen residing overseas and will be out of the county on Election Day and during the days of no-excuse in-person absentee voting.
  • Voter, or spouse of voter, who has surgery scheduled that will require hospitalization on the day of an election and during the days of no-excuse in-person absentee voting.
  • Student who temporarily resides outside the county in which he is registered.
  • Voter who temporarily resides outside the state, but is still eligible to vote in this state and will be absent from the county of his or her residence on Election Day and during the days of no-excuse in-person absentee voting.
  • Kentucky resident who is a uniformed-service voter​ and is confined to a military base on Election Day and during the days of no-excuse in-person absentee voting.
  • Voter who is in her last trimester of pregnancy.
  • Voter who has not been declared mentally disabled by a court of competent jurisdiction and, due to age, disability, or illness, is not able to appear at the polls on election day and during the days of no-excuse in-person absentee voting.
  • Voter who is a student who temporarily resides outside the county of his or her residence and will be absent from the county of his or her residence on the day of an election and during the days of no-excuse in-person absentee voting.
  • Voter who is employed in an occupation that is scheduled to work during all days and all hours, including commute time, that the polls are open on election day and during the days of no-excuse in-person absentee voting.
  • Voter who is election officer tasked with election administration for the current election cycle. ​

No excuse: In-person no-excuse absentee voting to be conducted in the county clerk’s office or other place designated by the county board of elections and approved by the State Board of Elections from the Thursday prior to Election Day through the Saturday before Election Day.

Resources

 

Tribes in Kentucky

Federally recognized tribes

  • None

State recognized tribes

  • None

Native Vote Coordinators

Sign up to be a local Native Vote coordinator today!

Major Party Contact Information

Democrat
Chair, Colmon Eldridge
www.kydemocrat.com

Republican
Chairman, Robert J. Benvenuti
www.rpk.org

Posted in States.