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Election administration encompasses a state's voting policies, procedures, and enforcement. These include voter identification requirements, early and absentee/mail-in voting provisions, voter list maintenance methods, and more. Each state's voting policies dictate who can vote and under what conditions.
Below, you will find details on the following election administration topics in Kentucky:
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.[2]
According to the Kentucky State Board of Elections, in order to register to vote, a person must:[3]
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The deadline to submit a voter registration application is 29 days before an election, unless that day is a state or federal holiday.[5] If mailed, applications must be postmarked by that deadline.[6]
Voter registration applications may be completed online, mailed to the county clerk's office, or submitted in person at the county clerk's office.[3]
Kentucky does not practice automatic voter registration.
Kentucky has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.
Kentucky does not allow same-day voter registration.
Kentucky law requires 28 days of residency in the state before a person may vote.[3]
Kentucky does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote. According to the state's voter registration application, "per KRS 119.025, any person who causes himself to be registered when he is not legally entitled to register, shall be subject to penalties including fines and/or a term of imprisonment not less than one (1) year nor more than (5) years."[7]
All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment.[8] Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. One state, Ohio, requires proof of citizenship only when registering to vote at a Bureau of Motor Vehicles facility. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.
The Voter Information Center site, run by the Kentucky State Board of Elections, allows residents to check their voter registration status online.
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.
A Kentucky voter is eligible to vote absentee in an election if they cannot make it to the polls on Election Day and they meet one of the following criteria:[9]
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Additionally, a voter that cannot make it to the polls on Election Day because as a result of medical emergency within 14 days of an election, and that voter's spouse, may request to receive an absentee ballot by mail.[10]
Voters can only request absentee ballots 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]
All states allow for some form of absentee/mail-in voting. Seven states and the District of Columbia had automatic mail-in ballot systems that mandate that all eligible voters receive an absentee/mail ballot by default. An eighth state, Vermont, had such a system for general elections only.
Twenty-eight states allow any eligible voter to cast an absentee/mail-in ballot. The remaining 14 states required voters to provide an excuse to receive and cast an absentee/mail ballot. Acceptable excuses vary by state.
A completed absentee ballot can be mailed to the local county clerk’s office and must be received by the close of the polls at 6:00 p.m. on Election Day. A voter can also drop off the completed ballot at ballot drop box, or at a clerk’s office before Election Day.[11]
State law does not specify whether someone other than the voter may return the absentee ballot, but any individuals assisting a voter with an absentee ballot must fill out a voter assistance form.[11]
Twenty states allow anyone chosen by the voter to return a ballot on the voter's behalf, with certain exceptions, while 16 states allow anyone with certain relationships to the voter to return the voter's ballot. Four states allow only the voter to return the voter's ballot, with certain exceptions, and two states required voters to return their ballots by mail. Eight states and D.C. do not specify who may return ballots.
Kentucky law requires county clerks to establish at least one ballot drop box in each county.[11] State law requires that not located within a county clerk's office to be:[11]
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Kentucky does have a cure provision. When election officials determine that a ballot contains a signature discrepancy or other correctable problem, state law requires them to make a reasonable effort to contact the voter and allow them to correct the issue. Election officials compare the signature on an absentee ballot with the signature on file with the voter's county clerk’s office. Voters have until the close of polls on Election Day to cure their ballot.[12]
Thirty-three states have laws that include cure provisions, while 17 states do not. One state, Pennsylvania, allows counties to establish a cure process.
Voters can contact their county clerk's office to see if their absentee ballot was mailed, received, and accepted.[13]
Kentucky requires voters to present identification while voting.[14][15]
As of October 2025, the following are the criteria for an eligible ID for voting purposes:
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(a) The United States or the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and the document contains: 1. The name of the individual to whom the document was issued; 2. 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: 1. The name of the individual to whom the document was issued; 2. 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: 1. The name of the individual to whom the document was issued; 2. 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: 1. The name of the individual to whom the document was issued; 2. A photograph of the individual to whom the document was issued.[4] |
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Voters who cannot obtain a photo ID can sign a voter affirmation form and present one of the following non-photo IDs:[16]
Thirty-six states require voters to present identification in order to vote at the polls on Election Day. Of these states, 24 require voters to present identification containing a photograph, and 12 accept other forms of identification. The remaining 14 states do not require voters to present identification in order to vote at the polls on Election Day.
Valid forms of identification differ by state. In certain states that require voters to provide identification, there may be exceptions that allow some voters to cast a ballot without providing an ID. To see more about these exceptions, see details by state. Commonly accepted forms of ID include driver's licenses, state-issued identification cards, and military identification cards.
Voters who do not have ID while voting may cast provisional ballots.[17] See below for provisional ballot rules.
Voters in Kentucky are given provisional ballots, or ballots requiring additional steps or information before they can be counted, under the following circumstances.[18]
(1) If the voter’s "name does not appear on the precinct roster and whose registration status cannot be determined by the precinct officer," the voter has the right to cast a provisional ballot.
(2) If the voter’s "name does not appear on the precinct roster and who has been verified as ineligible to vote," the voter has the right to cast a provisional ballot.
(3) If the "voter is voting as a result of a Federal or State Court Order or any Order under state law in effect 10 days prior to election day which extends polling hours," the voter has the right to cast a provisional ballot.
(4) If the voter does not provide photo identification, the voter has the right to cast a provisional ballot.
(5) If the voter’s eligibility "has been challenged by all four precinct election officers," the voter has the right to cast a provisional ballot.
A provisional ballot is rejected if the voter is ineligible to vote in the precinct in the election.[19]
Visit the office of the Kentucky State Board of Elections Provisional Ballot Search tool to check the status of your provisional ballot.
In Kentucky, the secretary of state and the Kentucky State Election Board share election administration responsibilities.[20][21]
The secretary of state is an elected position in Kentucky and officeholders may hold up to two consecutive four year terms. The secretary of state chairs the state election board, and the governor appoints the remaining eight members of the board. According to the board's website: "The State Board of Elections consists of the Secretary of State Michael G. Adams, who serves as the chief election official, and eight members appointed by the Governor from lists supplied by the two political parties in the Commonwealth and the Kentucky County Clerks Association."[22]
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. |
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Kentucky utilizes a closed primary process, in which only registered party members can participate.[23]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
In Kentucky, the state constitution grants employees the right to no less than four hours of paid leave for voting, specified by employers during elections. Employees who do not use this time to vote and are not prevented from doing so may be subjected to disciplinary action:[24]
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(2) As provided in Section 148 of the Constitution of Kentucky, any person entitled to a vote at any election in this state shall, if he has made application for leave prior to the day he appears before the county clerk to request an application for or to execute an absentee ballot, be entitled to absent himself from any services or employment in which he is then engaged or employed for a reasonable time, but not less than four (4) hours on the day he appears before the clerk to request an application for or to execute an absentee ballot, during normal business hours of the office of the clerk or to cast his ballot on the day of the election between the time of opening and closing the polls. The employer may specify the hours during which an employee may absent himself. (3) No person shall be penalized for taking a reasonable time off to vote, unless, under circumstances which did not prohibit him from voting, he fails to vote. Any qualified voter who exercises his right to voting leave under this section but fails to cast his vote, under circumstances which did not prohibit him from voting, may be subject to disciplinary action.[4] |
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Twenty-eight states require employers to grant employees time off to vote. Within these 28 states, policies vary as to whether that time off must be paid and how much notice must be given.
Kentucky law prohibits electioneering within 100 feet of voting locations. State law says:[25]
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Section 119.155 of state law also classifies preventing a voter from casting a ballot as a class D felony.[26]
Individuals convicted of a felony regain 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.[27]
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.[28]
All states have rules under which they maintain voter rolls—or, check and remove certain names from their lists of registered voters. Most states are subject to the parameters set by The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).[29] The NVRA requires states to make efforts to remove deceased individuals and individuals who have become ineligible due to a change of address. It prohibits removing registrants from voter lists within 90 days of a federal election due to change of address unless a registrant has requested to be removed, or from removing people from voter lists solely because they have not voted. The NVRA says that states may remove names from their registration lists under certain other circumstances and that their methods for removing names must be uniform and nondiscriminatory.[30]
Kentucky law authorizes the State Board of Elections to remove the names of voters from the registered voting list if an individual:[31][32]
Kentucky law requires the State Board of Elections to conduct a voter registration purge program using National Change of Address data. If the Board identifies individuals who appear to have moved, the Board or county elections officials are to send the voter an address confirmation notice. If the voter does not respond, they are placed on an inactive voter registration list. Inactive voters are not included in calculations for election administration procedures. If a voter remains in inactive status through two general elections for federal office, their registration is to be cancelled.[31]
According to its website, ERIC is a nonprofit corporation that is governed by a board of member-states. These member states submit voter registration and motor vehicle registration information to ERIC. ERIC uses this information, as well as Social Security death records and other sources, to provide member states with reports showing voters who have moved within their state, moved out of their state, died, have duplicate registrations in their state, or are potentially eligible to vote but are not yet registered. ERIC's website describes its funding as follows: "Members fund ERIC. New members pay a one-time membership fee of $25,000, which is reserved for technology upgrades and other unanticipated expenses. Members also pay annual dues. Annual dues cover operating costs and are based, in part, on the citizen voting age population in each state."[33]
Twenty-five states are participating members in the ERIC program. Thirty-four states and the District of Columbia have joined and participated in ERIC at some point.[34]
As of November 2025, Kentucky was participating in the ERIC program.
Kentucky state law requires post-election audits. Election officials randomly select one ballot scanner and one race tabulated on that scanner in each county and conduct a hand-to-eye recount of the tally. If officials find discrepancies, the county board opens an investigation, determines whether the discrepancies could have changed the result of any races, and reports to the attorney general secretary of state.[35]
Post-election audits check that election results tallied by a state's voting system match results from paper records, such as paper ballots filled out by voters or the paper records produced by electronic voting machines. Post-election audits are classified into two categories: audits of election results—which include traditional post-election audits as well as risk-limiting audits—and procedural audits.[36][37]
Typically, traditional post-election audits are done by recounting a portion of ballots, either electronically or by hand, and comparing the results to those produced by the state's voting system. In contrast, risk-limiting audits use statistical methods to compare a random sample of votes cast to election results instead of reviewing every ballot. The scope of procedural audits varies by state, but they typically include a systematic review of voting equipment, performance of the voting system, vote totals, duties of election officials and workers, ballot chain of custody, and more.
Forty-six states and the District of Columbia require some form of post-election audit by law, excluding states with pilot programs. Of these, 39 states and the District of Columbia require traditional post-election audits, while three states require risk-limiting post-election audits, and three states require some other form of post-election audit, including procedural post-election audits.[38][36]
On April 7, 2021, Governor Andy Beshear (D) signed HB574 into law, making the following modifications to Kentucky's election laws:[39][40]
On February 26, 2021, the Kentucky House of Representatives approved HB574 by a vote of 93-4. On March 16, 2021, the Kentucky State Senate approved an amended version of the bill by a vote of 32-3. On March 29, 2021, the House voted 91-3 to approve the Senate's amendments.[39]
Ballotpedia has tracked the following ballot measures relating to election and campaign policy in Kentucky.
The table below lists bills related to election administration that have been introduced during (or carried over to) the current legislative session in Kentucky. The following information is included for each bill:
Bills are organized by most recent action. The table displays up to 100 results. To view more bills, use the arrows in the upper-right corner. Clicking on a bill will open its page on Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker, which includes bill details and a summary.
In order to get on the ballot in Kentucky, a candidate for state or federal office must meet a variety of state-specific filing requirements and deadlines. These regulations, known as ballot access laws, determine whether a candidate or party will appear on an election ballot. These laws are set at the state level. A candidate must prepare to meet ballot access requirements well in advance of primaries, caucuses, and the general election.
There are three basic methods by which an individual may become a candidate for office in a state.
This article outlines the steps that prospective candidates for state-level and congressional office must take in order to run for office in Kentucky. For information about filing requirements for presidential candidates, click here. Information about filing requirements for local-level offices is not available in this article (contact state election agencies for information about local candidate filing processes).
Redistricting is the process by which new congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn. Each of Kentucky's six United States Representatives and 138 state legislators are elected from political divisions called districts. United States Senators are not elected by districts, but by the states at large. District lines are redrawn every 10 years following completion of the United States census. The federal government stipulates that districts must have nearly equal populations and must not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity.[41][42][43][44]
Kentucky was apportioned six seats in the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2020 census, the same number it received after the 2010 census. Click here for more information about redistricting in Kentucky after the 2020 census.
In Kentucky, both congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn by the state legislature. District maps may be vetoed by the governor.[45]
Guidelines adopted in 1991 stipulate that congressional districts ought to be contiguous. In addition, county lines and communities of interest should be maintained if possible. These guidelines are not statutory; consequently, they may be amended by the legislature at its discretion.[45]
The Kentucky Constitution requires that state legislative districts "be contiguous ... and preserve whole counties where possible."[45]
Individuals seeking additional information about election administration in Kentucky can contact the following local, state, and federal agencies.
Kentucky County Boards of Elections
Secretary of State
Kentucky State Board of Elections
Kentucky Registry of Election Finance
U.S. Election Assistance Commission
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Categories: [Kentucky] [Voting laws by state] [Election governance] [Election policy tracking]