Voting laws in Kentucky

From Ballotpedia

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Qualifications to vote

General Eligibility

116.025 Eligibility to vote. (1) Every person who is a resident of this state and the precinct in which he or she offers to vote on or before the day preceding the closing of the registration books for any primary, general, or special election, who possesses on the day of any election the qualifications set forth in Section 145 of the Constitution, exclusive of the durational residency requirements, who is not disqualified under that section or under any other statute, and who is registered as provided in this chapter, may vote for all officers to be elected by the people and on all public questions submitted for determination at that election, in the precinct in which he or she is qualified to vote. ^[1]

Felon Voting Prohibited

Any person who shall have been convicted of any election law offense which is a felony shall not be permitted to vote until his or her civil rights have been restored by executive pardon. (2) Any person charged with or indicted for a crime, whether or not in custody for same, who has not yet been convicted of the offense and who is not otherwise ineligible to vote, may vote for all offices to be elected by the people and on all public questions submitted for determination at that election, in the precinct in which he or she is qualified to vote.^[1]

Upon receipt of notification from the Administrative Office of the Courts that a person has been convicted of a felony offense, the State Board of Elections shall within five (5) days cause the removal of the name of that person from the voter registration records it maintains, except that no voter's name may be removed during the period of time the registration books are closed for any primary, general, or special election.^[2]

Residency changes

(3) A registered voter who changes his or her place of residence from one (1) precinct to another within the same county while the registration books are closed shall be permitted to update the voting records and to vote in the present election at the appropriate precinct for the current address as set forth in KRS 116.085(3). (4) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any registered voter who changes his or her place of residence from one (1) precinct to another within the same county prior to the closing of the registration books and who fails to transfer his or her registration with the county clerk prior to the date the registration books are closed shall be permitted to vote in the present election at the appropriate precinct for the current address as set forth in KRS 116.085(2). (5) Any registered voter who changes his or her place of residence to a different county while the registration books are closed shall be permitted to vote at the appropriate precinct for his or her former residence in the present election and shall thereafter transfer his or her voter registration. (6) Any registered voter who changes his or her place of residence to a different county and fails to register to vote in the county of current residence prior to the date the registration books are closed shall not be eligible to vote in the present election in the county of current residence or the county of former residence. (7) Any registered voter who changes his or her place of registration to a different state while the registration books are closed in the new state of residence before a presidential election shall be permitted to cast an absentee ballot for President and Vice President only, notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, by mail or at the county clerk's office of the former residence or other place designated by the county board of elections and approved by the State Board of Elections.^[1]

Determination of Residency

The following rules, so far as applicable, shall be observed in determining the residence of a person offering to vote: (1) A voter's residence shall be deemed to be at the place where his or her habitation is, and to which, when absent, he or she has the intention of returning; (2) A voter shall not lose his or her residence by absence for temporary purposes merely; nor shall he or she obtain a residence by being in a county or precinct for such temporary purposes, without the intention of making that county or precinct his or her home; (3) A voter shall lose his or her residence by removal to another state or county with intention to make his or her permanent residence there, or by removal to and residence in another state, with intention to reside there an indefinite time, or by voting there, even though he or she may have had the intention to return to this state at some future period; (4) The place where the family of a married person resides shall generally be considered his or her residence, unless the family so resides for a temporary purpose. If his family is permanently in one (1) place, and he or she transacts business in another, the former shall be the residence.^[3]

Absentee Voting

Voters with Disabilities

(1) Any qualified voter who has not been declared mentally disabled by a court of competent jurisdiction, and who, on account of age, disability or illness, is not able to appear at the polls on election day may vote in the following manner. At least seven (7) days prior to the date of the election and prior to the close of normal business hours, he shall present to the clerk by mail or in person his application for an absentee ballot containing a verified statement that his inability to appear is due to age, disability, or illness. The request for the application may be made by telephone, facsimile machine, mail, or in person. Upon receipt of the application, the clerk shall immediately mail to the voter an absentee ballot and envelopes, and the voter shall cast his vote in accordance with KRS 117.086. The ballot shall be returned by the voter to the county clerk by mail. (2) Ballots furnished pursuant to the provisions of this section shall include the names of all candidates for which the voter is entitled to vote.^[4]

Medical Emergencies

In case of a medical emergency within fourteen (14) days or less of an election, a registered voter and the registered voter's spouse may apply for an absentee ballot. The application shall state that the emergency condition occurred within the fourteen (14) day period. The application shall be notarized. The application form may be requested by and delivered by the voter or the spouse, parents, or children of the voter. If the voter has no spouse, parents, or children, the application form may be requested by and delivered by the brother, sister, niece, nephew, or designee of the voter. The application form shall be restricted to the use of the voter. Upon receipt of the application and verification, the county clerk shall issue an absentee ballot. ^[5]

Military Voting

The provisions of KRS 117.085 and 117.086 notwithstanding, the State Board of Elections shall, as circumstances warrant and with the concurrence of the Attorney General, promulgate necessary administrative regulations to preserve the absentee voting rights of residents of Kentucky who are military personnel serving on active duty outside the United States and other residents of Kentucky residing outside the United States.^[6]

Election Day Activities

Who may enter the polls

(1) No person, other than the election officers, challengers, person assisting voters in accordance with KRS 117.255(3), and a minor child in the company of a voter, shall be permitted within the voting room while the vote is being polled, except as follows: (a) For the purpose of voting; (b) By authority of the election officers to keep order and enforce the law; (c) With the express approval of the county board of elections to repair or replace voting equipment that is malfunctioning and to provide additional voting equipment; or (d) At the voter's discretion, a minor child in the company of a voter may accompany the voter into a voting booth or other private area provided for casting a vote.^[7]

Appointment of Challengers

Appointment of challengers and inspectors. (1) Each political party is entitled to have not exceeding two (2) challengers at each precinct during the holding of the primary election. Any group of bona fide candidates, as defined in KRS 118.176, of the same political party equal to twenty-five percent (25%) of all the candidates for that party to be voted for in a county in any primary, including state, district, and all other candidates, may recommend to the county committee or governing authority of the party for the county a list of persons whom they desire to have appointed as challengers in each precinct in the county. If more than two (2) such lists are furnished, the committee or governing authority, in making appointments of challengers, shall alternate between the several lists so furnished so as to give to each list an equal amount or proportion of the appointments, but in no event shall there be appointed more than one (1) challenger for any precinct from any one (1) list. The list of challengers shall be presented to the chair or secretary of the party committee of the county on or before the third Friday in April preceding the primary, and the committee or the chairman thereof shall make the appointments, certify to same, and present a list of certified challengers to the county clerk at least twenty (20) days before the date on which the primary is held. The appointment of challengers shall be certified in all respects as challengers at regular elections, except as otherwise provided in this section. The challengers shall be registered voters of the county in which the primary is held and shall be subject to the same penalties and possess the same rights and privileges as challengers at regular elections, except that the challengers of one political party shall not be entitled to challenge persons who offer to vote for candidates of any other party in the primary. The provisions of this section shall be enforceable against the chair of the political party committees by a mandatory summary proceeding instituted in the Circuit Court. The order of the court may be reviewed by the Court of Appeals as provided for the granting or dissolving of temporary injunctions. (2) Any school board candidate, any independent ticket or candidate for city office, any nonpartisan city candidate, or candidate for an office of the Court of Justice at the primary or regular election may designate not more than one (1) challenger to be present at and witness the holding of primaries or elections in each precinct in the county. A candidate who designates a challenger shall present the county clerk with the name of the challenger at least twenty (20) days preceding the primary or regular election. The challenger shall be entitled to stay in the room or at the door. The challenger shall be a registered voter of the county in which the primary or election is held, shall be appointed in writing by the chair of the committee, independent candidate, or candidates representing a ticket, and shall produce written appointment on demand of any election officer. (3) The county executive committee of any political party having a ticket to elect at any regular election may designate not more than two (2) challengers to be present at and witness the holding of the election in each precinct in the county. The challengers shall be entitled to stay in the room or at the door. The challengers shall be registered voters of the county in which the election is held, shall be appointed in.^[8]

Electioneering

(2) No officer of election shall do any electioneering on election day. (3) No person shall electioneer at the polling place on the day of any election, as established in KRS 118.025, within a distance of three hundred (300) feet of any entrance to a building in which a voting machine is located if that entrance is unlocked and is used by voters on election day, unless the fiscal court or legislative body of an urban-county, charter county, or consolidated local government, on a countywide basis, specifically prohibits electioneering on the day of any election by ordinance for a distance greater than three hundred (300) feet from the polling place. No person shall electioneer within the interior of a building or affix any electioneering materials to the exterior or interior of a building where the county clerk's office is located, or any building designated by the county board of elections and approved by the State Board of Elections for absentee voting, during the hours absentee voting is being conducted in the building by the county clerk pursuant to KRS 117.085(1)(c). Electioneering shall include the displaying of signs, the distribution of campaign literature, cards, or handbills, the soliciting of signatures to any petition, or the solicitation of votes for or against any bona fide candidate or ballot question in a manner which expressly advocates the election or defeat of the candidate or expressly advocates the passage or defeat of the ballot question, but shall not include exit polling or other exceptions established by the State Board of Elections through the promulgation of administrative regulations. (4) No voter shall be permitted to converse with others while in any room in which voting, including absentee voting, is conducted concerning their support or nonsupport of any candidate, party, or issue to be voted on, except as provided in KRS 117.255. (5) Any precinct election officer, county clerk, deputy county clerk, or any law enforcement official may enforce the election laws and maintain law and order at the polls and within three hundred (300) feet of any entrance to the building in which the voting machine is located if that entrance is unlocked and is used by voters. Assistance may be requested of any law enforcement officer. (6) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, the State Board of Elections may establish a program designed to instill in school children a respect for the democratic principles of voting by conducting in any county a mock election for school children in conjunction with any primary, or regular or special election. The State Board of Elections shall promulgate administrative regulations regarding the mock elections to insure that the regular voting process will not be impaired.^[7]

Recording devices

No election officer, voter, or other person permitted by law within the voting room, except for challengers appointed under KRS 117.315, shall use paper, telephone, a personal telecommunications device, or a computer or other information technology system for the purpose of creating a checkoff list or otherwise recording the identity of voters within the voting room, except for the official use of the precinct signature roster that is furnished or approved by the State Board of Elections and is otherwise permitted by law.^[9]

Further Reading

This article only highlights important parts of Kentucky Code. If the information you are looking for is not on this page, please look at the Kentucky Code available online.

References

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} http://www.lrc.ky.gov/KRS/116-00/025.PDF Kentucky Code § 116.025 (2002)
2. ↑ http://www.lrc.ky.gov/KRS/116-00/113.PDF Kentucky Code § 116.113 (2002)
3. ↑ http://www.lrc.ky.gov/KRS/116-00/035.PDF Kentucky Code § 116.035 (2002)
4. ↑ [1] Kentucky Code § 117.075 (1998)
5. ↑ [2] Kentucky Code § 117.077 (2002)
6. ↑ [3] Kentucky Code § 117.079 (1991)
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} http://www.lrc.ky.gov/KRS/117-00/235.PDF Kentucky Code § 117.235 (2008)
8. ↑ http://www.lrc.ky.gov/KRS/117-00/315.PDF Kentucky Code § 117.315 (2008)
9. ↑ http://www.lrc.ky.gov/KRS/117-00/236.PDF Kentucky Code § 117.236 (2008)

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