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Voting in Kentucky

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Select a state from the menu below to learn more about its voting policies.

The policies governing voter participation are enacted and enforced primarily at the state level. These policies, which include voter identification requirements, early voting provisions, online voter registration systems, and more, dictate the conditions under which people cast their ballots in their respective states.

This article includes the following information about voting policies in Kentucky:

Click here for more information about election administration in the state, including voter list maintenance policies, provisional ballot rules, post-election auditing practices, and additional election policy context.

For information on elections happening this year, click here.

Do you have questions about your elections? Looking for information about your local election official? Click here to use U.S. Vote Foundation’s election official lookup tool.

Voter registration

Eligibility and registration details

Check your voter registration status here.

According to the Kentucky State Board of Elections, in order to register to vote, a person must:[1]

“
  • 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 at least 18 years old by the next General Election;
    • Kentucky law allows qualified individuals to register at 17 years of age and be able to participate in a Primary Election if the individual will be 18 years old by the General Election;
  • Not be a convicted felon (or, if convicted of a felony, my 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.[2]
 ”

The deadline to submit a voter registration application is 29 days before an election, unless that day is a state or federal holiday.[3] If mailed, applications must be postmarked by that deadline.[4]

Voter registration applications may be completed online, mailed to the county clerk's office, or submitted in person at the county clerk's office.[1]


In-person voting

Poll times

See also: State poll opening and closing times

In Kentucky, all polls are open from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Central and Eastern Time. All those in line by 6:00 p.m. will be permitted to vote.[5]

Voter identification

See also: Voter identification laws by state

Kentucky requires voters to present identification while voting.[6][7]

Voters can present the following forms of identification:

  • Driver’s license
  • Social Security card
  • County issued identification card approved in writing by the State Board of Elections
  • U.S. government-issued identification card
  • Kentucky state government-issued identification card with a picture
  • Any form of ID containing both picture and signature

If a precinct officer is a personal acquaintance of the voter, the voter does not have to produce identification.

Early voting

See also: Early voting

Kentucky permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website.

Early voting permits citizens to cast ballots in person at a polling place prior to an election. In states that permit no-excuse early voting, a voter does not have to provide an excuse for being unable to vote on Election Day. States that allow voters to cast no-excuse absentee/mail-in ballots in person are counted as no-excuse early voting states.

Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia permit no-excuse early voting.


Absentee/mail-in voting

See also: Absentee/mail-in voting

A Kentucky voter is eligible to vote absentee in an election if he or she cannot make it to the polls on Election Day for one of the following reasons:[8]

  • The voter is advanced in age, disabled, or ill
  • The voter is a member of the United States Military or is a dependent of a member of the military
  • The voter is an overseas citizen
  • The voter is a student who temporarily resides outside the county
  • The voter is temporarily residing outside of Kentucky and maintains eligibility to vote in Kentucky, such as a "snowbird"
  • The voter is incarcerated, but not yet convicted of a crime
  • The voter is unable to vote in-person because of his or her employment location
  • The voter is a participant in the Secretary of State's crime victim address confidentiality protection program
  • The voter is subject to a medical emergency within fourteen days or less of an election
  • The voter has change their residence or registered in a new state after the date on which that state closes their registration before a presidential election, than the voter may cast an absentee ballot by mail in Kentucky

Absentee ballots can only be requested through an online portal established by the State Board of Elections. Disabled, military and overseas, and voters subject to medical emergencies may also request an absentee ballot through their county clerk. Eligible voters who do not have internet access may give their information to a county clerk by phone to request an absentee ballot.[9]

State law allows for the portal to be open between 45 and 14 days immediately preceding a primary or general election.[9]


Local election officials

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Do you need information about elections in your area? Are you looking for your local election official? Click here to visit the U.S. Vote Foundation and use their election official lookup tool.

Voting rules for people convicted of a felony

See also: Voting rights for people convicted of a felony

Effective December 12, 2019, people convicted of a felony in Kentucky regained the right to vote upon completion of sentence, including prison time, parole, and probation. Rights are restored at that time regardless of whether the people convicted have paid all fines, restitution, or other money ordered by a court. People convicted of treason, election bribery, and certain violent felonies do not regain voting rights.[10]

Prior to December 12, 2019, people convicted of any felony, as well as some misdemeanors, lost their voting rights, according to Kentucky's constitution, Section 145. Voting rights could be restored to them only by reversible pardons offered by the state's governor.

Voting rights for people convicted of a felony vary from state to state. In the majority of states, people convicted of a felony cannot vote while they are incarcerated but may regain the right to vote upon release from prison or at some point thereafter.[11]


Election administration agencies

Election agencies

Seal of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission
See also: State election agencies

Individuals seeking additional information about election administration in Kentucky can contact the following local, state, and federal agencies.

Kentucky County Boards of Elections

Click here for a list

Secretary of State

700 Capital Ave., Suite 152
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Phone: 502-564-3490
Fax: 502-564-5687
Email: https://www.sos.ky.gov/pages/contact.aspx
Website:http://www.sos.ky.gov/elections/

Kentucky State Board of Elections

140 Walnut Street
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Phone: 502-573-710
Toll free: 1-800-246-1399
Fax: 502-573-4369
Website: https://elect.ky.gov/Pages/default.aspx

Kentucky Registry of Election Finance

140 Walnut Street
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Phone: 502-573-2226
Fax: 502-573-5622
Email: John.Steffen@ky.gov
Website: http://kref.ky.gov/Pages/default.aspx

U.S. Election Assistance Commission

633 3rd Street NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 301-563-3919
Toll free: 1-866-747-1471
Email: clearinghouse@eac.gov
Website: https://www.eac.gov


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See also

Elections in Kentucky


External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Commonwealth of Kentucky State Board of Elections, "Registration," accessed July 26, 2024
  2. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  3. ↑ Kentucky General Assembly, "116.045 Voter registration, transfer, or change of party affiliation -- Availability of forms," accessed July 24, 2024
  4. ↑ Kentucky General Assembly, "116.0452 Standards for timely receipt of voter registration application -- Removal of names from registration books -- Confidentiality of registration location," accessed July 24, 2024
  5. ↑ Kentucky State Board of Elections, "Election Day Information," accessed July 26, 2024
  6. ↑ Kentucky State Board of Elections, "Election Day Information," accessed July 25, 2024
  7. ↑ FindLaw.com, "Kentucky Revised Statutes Title X. Elections § 117.227. Confirmation of voter's identity," accessed July 25, 2024
  8. ↑ Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 117, "117.076 No-excuse in-person absentee ballot -- Excused in-person absentee ballot -- Proof of identification -- In-person absentee voting procedure -- Voter assistance form -- Oath of voter affidavit -- Signature roster -- Members of county board may serve as precinct officers -- Challengers -- Locking of voting equipment -- Transmitting or publicizing count -- Tamper-resistant seal -- Administrative regulations.," accessed July 25, 2024
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 117, "117.085 Mail-in absentee ballots -- Application through online portal and other means -- Procedures -- Cancellation -- Administrative regulations -- Disclosure of information." accessed July 25, 2024
  10. ↑ Kentucky Governor, "Related to the Restoration of Civil Rights for Convicted Felons," December 12, 2019
  11. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Felon Voting Rights," April 6, 2023
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