Voting & Elections Toolkits

Deadline

• October 11, 2022 - 4:00pm  is the registration deadline for the November 8, 2022 General Election.
• Election Calendar

Online registration

Note: requires entering Social Security # and date of birth.

Online registration (in English) is directly at: https://vrsws.sos.ky.gov/ovrweb/default

Mail-in registration

The voter registration card should be routed to the County Clerk in the county listed on the voter registration card [County where you live], NOT to the State Board of Elections.

Printable forms (in English)

Refer to the box below for information about ID requirements.

Choosing a political party   

• You may choose a political party affiliation when you register, but it is not required. Note: if you did not select a party, and wish to vote in a partisan primary, you must update your registration by December 31 of the year prior to the primary election.                

Updating registration      

To update registration after a move, name change, or change of political party affiliation, use the Kentucky Voter Information Portal

If you did not select a political party, and wish to vote in a partisan primary, you must update your registration by December 31 of the year prior to the primary election.  

Cancelling registration

To cancel your voter registration, contact the County Clerk’s office where you are registered to vote.

ID Requirements for Voting

For the 2022 General Election:

"You'll need to bring a photo ID with you"...

"If you don't have one, you can sign a special form at the polls and show poll workers one of these cards instead:

• A Social Security card
• An ID card of any kind that includes your photo and your name
• A food stamp, electronic benefit transfer or supplemental nutrition assistance cards that list your name
• A credit or debit card that lists your name

You also could get your identity confirmed if you personally know an election officer"

above per the Courier-Journal, May 16, 2022; and, League of Women Voters of Lexington

Where to get an ID

Transportation Cabinet, Division of Driver Licensing

• Locations

Obtaining a Driver’s License

• New license
• Transferring from another state - same site as above
• Obtaining a non-driver photo ID - same site as above

Absentee voting

          General information on absentee voting in Kentucky

           Reasons for voting an excused in-person absentee ballot

                  note:  polling locations includes for Nov. 8 and for "in-person no-excuse absentee locations" - those absentee ballots can be dropped off Nov. 3, Nov. 4, Nov. 5, 2022 - 8:00am to 4:00pm at the locations listed

            there is also "excused in-person Wednesday–Friday, October 26. 27, 28, and Monday–Wednesday, October 31, November 1, and 2, 2022", per the FAQ on the Secretary of State's website

Opening/closing dates

• Absentee ballots -- mailed-in ballots must be received by clerk's office before 6:00pm, November 8, 2022

Military voters and voters who reside outside the U.S.

• Link for the form for military and overseas voters

Who is eligible to use an absentee ballot?

"Early voting, absentee voting, mail-in: Here's how Kentucky's voting laws have changed" - Courier Journal, Aug. 23, 2022

NOTE: below is out of date for the 2020 General Election.

In order to apply for and receive an absentee ballot, you must meet one of the following requirements:

    for mail-in absentee ballot:

• Advanced in age, disabled, or ill
• Military personnel, their Dependents, or Overseas Citizens
• A student who temporarily resides outside the county
• A voter who temporarily resides outside of Kentucky and who maintains eligibility to vote in Kentucky, such as a "snowbird"
• Incarcerated, but not yet convicted of a crime

• Prevented from voting in person at the polls on election day and from casting an in-person absentee ballot in the county clerks office on all days in-person absentee voting is conducted because of his or her employment location

     for in-person absentee ballot :  [one of these requirements]

• Out of the county on election day
• Advanced in age, disabled, or ill
• Military, their Dependents, or an Overseas Citizen
• Military personnel confined to base and learn of your confinement within seven days or less of an election
• Student or resident who temporarily resides outside of the county
• Voter or the spouse of a voter who has surgery scheduled that will require hospitalization on Election Day
• Pregnant woman in third trimester
• Precinct election officer appointed to serve in precinct other than his own
• Staff / officerof : Alternate precinct election officer; County Board of Elections’ members ; County Board of Elections’ staff ; Deputy county clerk ; State Board of Elections’ staff

Polling places and hours

• All Polling Locations, by county
• For the General Election, November 8, 2022, polls in Kentucky are open from 6:00am to 6:00pm local time. If you are in line by 6:00pm local time, you will be allowed to vote.
• Time off to vote:  "If you are working on Election Day, you may be entitled to a maximum of four consecutive hours off from work in order to vote or cast an absentee ballot if you make a request for time off with your employer. Your employer may specify the hours you may take  leave to cast a ballot."

Rides to the polls

Many organizations offer free rides to polling places. Check your local newspaper or broadcast news station for these organizations.

Help for voters with disabilities

• Polling places are accessible
• A voter may receive assistance in voting if the voter is blind, has a physical disability, or has an inability to read English. (The person assisting you can be a someone you choose or the two precinct election judges, except that the voter’s employer, an agent of that employer, or an officer or agent of the voter’s union shall not assist a voter)

Ballots

Where to get more info on candidates - League of Women Voters of Kentucky; local newspapers (daily and weekly)

Sample ballots

Who are the candidates, and what else is on the ballot?

   Almost all of the ballots for counties are online as of 10/2/2022 (ballots for 18 counties are not yet online)

Important Dates

• Voter Registration:  October 11, 2022, 4:00pm local time
• Absentee Ballot request (online): opens September 24; closes on October 25, 2022, 11:59pm
• Absentee Ballot request (mail request or in-person request) same dates as above; official wording is "online mail-in absentee request"
• "In-person no excuse absentee locations" - dropoff for absentee ballots: Nov. 3, Nov. 4, Nov. 5, 8:00am to 4:00pm at locations listed (website also noted polling locations for Nov. 8)
• General Election: November 8, 2022

Who conducts elections?

• The Kentucky Secretary of State  oversees statewide elections.

Voter Bill of Rights

Voter Rights - State Board of Elections

Where to go with complaints about candidates or how elections are conducted

• For campaign finance, contact the Registry of Election Finance
• For election law violations, contact the hotline for the Attorney General for Kentucky

Campaign finance

• Registry of Election Finance

How to contact your elected officials:

Find your elected officials:

• Members of Congress from Kentucky