| MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT |
A: To register you must:
- Be a U.S. Citizen and a Kentucky resident for at least 28 days
- Be at least 18 years old by the date of the next general election. If you will be 18 by the November general election, you are eligible
- Not be a convicted felon or, if convicted of a felony offense, you must have had your civil rights restored. Contact your local
- Not have been judged “mentally incompetent” in a court of law
- Not claim the right to vote anywhere outside Kentucky
Q: Where do I register to vote?
A: You can register at one of the following locations:
- County Clerk’s office
- Driver’s License office, if you are applying for or renewing your driver’s license
- K-TAP, Food Stamp, Medicaid, WIC and state funded offices serving those with disabilities, if you are a client of these offices.
- Armed Forces Recruitment offices, if you are a prospective member of the armed forces
- A high school, if you are a student or staff member
- Kentucky mail-in voter registration form
- Federal mail-in voter registration form, the completed voter registration card must be mailed or returned at least 28 days prior
Q: Must I choose a party when I register?
A. Kentucky has closed party primary elections. That means you must register as a Democrat or Republican to vote in
that party’s May primary election. If you choose a different party registration other than Republican or Democrat, you cannot
vote in their respective primaries, but may vote in nonpartisan city and judicial primaries. All eligible voters may vote in
the November general election or any special election.
Q: How do I know where to vote?
A: You will receive a notice in the mail from the county clerk with your precinct name and voting location address. The polls
are open from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM local time. All those in line by 6:00 PM will be able to vote. If you have any questions
concerning where to vote, call your county clerk or visit the Voter Information Center by clicking here or visit the State
Board of Elections web site.
UPDATING YOUR VOTER REGISTRATION
Q: May I change my political party affiliation?
A: You may change your political party affiliation at any time on or before December 31 to remain eligible to vote in the
following primary election. You simply need to fill out a new voter registration card and return it to your county clerk
by the December 31 deadline.
Q: Am I eligible to vote in an election if I move?
A: To be eligible to vote, refer to the appropriate situation below:
- You move within the county. Notify the county clerk of your new address or update your driver’s license. The county clerk will
your new address to vote and update your voter registration address.
- You move outside the county more than 28 days before election day. Update your voter registration address with the new
clerk in either your old or new county of residence 29 days prior to an election, you are not eligible to vote in either county.
You move outside the county less than 29 days before the election. You may vote in your previous county of residence for this
election, but must register to vote in your new county of residence. You temporarily reside outside Kentucky, but are eligible to
vote in Kentucky. You may vote by absentee ballot.
ABSENTEE BALLOTS
Q: What if I am unable to get to the polls on election day?
A: You may request the absentee ballot application from your county clerk’s office in person, by mail, by phone or by fax.
The deadline for applying for a mail absentee ballot is seven days before an election. • You may request a mail-in absentee
ballot if you meet one of these requirements:
1. You are advanced in age, disabled, ill or has a medical emergency.
2. You are a member of the Armed Forces or the dependent of a member of the Armed Forces
3. You are military personnel confined to a military base on election day
4. You temporarily reside overseas but are still eligible to vote in Kentucky
5. You are a student attending school outside the county of your voter registration
6. You temporarily reside outside the state but are still eligible to vote in Kentucky
7. You are incarcerated in jail and have been charged but not convicted of a felony.
8. Your employment takes you out of the county on election day, and all hours and days that absentee voting is being conducted
in the county clerk’s office
- You may vote an absentee ballot on a voting machine in the county clerk’s office for at least 12 business days before the
election if you meet one of the following conditions:
1. You will be out of the county on election day
2. You are a member of the Armed Forces, the dependent of a member of the Armed Forces, or a citizen residing overseas who
will be absent from the county on election day.
3. You are a student attending school outside the county of your voter registration who will be absent from the county on
election day.
4. You, or your spouse, has surgery scheduled that will require hospitalization on election day.
5. You are a pregnant woman in your third trimester.
6. You are a member or an employee of the County Board of Elections, deputy clerk, an alternate precinct election officer or
appointed to a precinct other than that in which you are registered.
7. You are a member of the Armed Forces who will be confined to base within the county on election day and learns of that
confinement within 7 days or less of the election. If you have a medical emergency, you or your spouse may apply for a
medical emergency absentee ballot within 14 days or less of an election.
VOTING PROCEDURES
Q: How do I operate the voting machine?
A: You may request instructions on how to use the voting machine from the precinct election officers. You may also request a
sample ballot to review while waiting to vote.
Q: What if I have special needs at the polls?
A: Under the new Help America Vote Act (HAVA), all states are required to have a voting machine in each polling place that
allows anyone with a disability to cast a ballot free of outside assistance. Nevertheless, voters who ask for voting assistance
due to physical disability, blindness or an inability to read English may request voting assistance at the polls on election day.
Physical disability and blindness are the only two reasons a voter may apply to the County Board of Elections for permanent
voting assistance. A person may not be assisted by his or her employer, agent, a union officer or agent of that voter’s union.
Q: Can I vote by Provisional Ballot?
A: A provisional ballot is to be used only in federal elections to cast a ballot for federal offices by an individual who resides in
the voting precinct and falls under one of the circumstances below:
• A voter whose name does not appear on the roster and whose registration status cannot be determine by the precinct officer
• A voter whose name does not appear on the roster and who has been verified as ineligible to vote
• A voter who does not have identification
• A voter who 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 the polling hours.
• A voter who has been challenged by all four precinct election officers. If you vote a provisional ballot, you can determine if
your vote counted by using the Provisional Voter Information search feature located on the State Board of Election’s web
site or by calling your local county clerk of the county in which you cast the ballot.
VOTER FRAUD:
If you believe that your right to vote has been violated, please contact one of the following:
Precinct Election Officers
County Clerk
County Board of Elections
State Board of Elections
Attorney General’s Election Fraud Hot line
(800) 328-8683.
| Home Page Site Map Polling Location Find My Precinct When is Election Day How does the Voting Machine work |
| MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT |
| RETURN TO TOP |