Kentucky Voter Information
Election days and polling hours
Primary election: May 20
General election: Nov. 4
Polling hours: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Qualifications to register to vote
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 to vote in the prior May primary election)
- Not be a convicted felon or, if convicted of a felony offense, you must have had your civil rights restored. Contact your local parole office to obtain an application for restoration of civil rights
- Not have been judged "mentally incompetent" in a court of law
- Not claim the right to vote anywhere outside Kentucky
Registering to vote
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
- High schools, if you are a student or staff member
- Kentucky mail-in Voter Registration Card
- Federal mail-in Voter Registration Card
The completed voter registration card must be mailed or returned at least 28 days prior to the election.
Updating your registration if you move
If you move within the same county: Notify the county clerk of your new address or update your driver's license. The county clerk will tell you the location of your new voting precinct. If you do not do this before election day, you must go to the voting precinct of 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 county clerk or renew your driver's license in the new county at least 29 days before the election. If you do not notify the county clerk in either your old county or your 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 28 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 for future elections.
You temporarily reside outside of Kentucky, but are eligible to vote in Kentucky: You may vote by absentee ballot. Please see section regarding absentee ballots.
Updating your registration if you change your name
There are three ways for you to update your voter registration when you change your name: renew or update your driver's license; notify the county clerk by writing or visiting its office; or by filling out a new voter registration card.
Voting in the May 20 Primary Election
Kentucky has closed party primary elections. You must register as a Democrat or Republican to vote in that party's primary election. If you choose a different party registration other than Democrat or Republican, you cannot vote in their respective primaries, but may vote in nonpartisan city and judicial primaries.
Where to vote
If you have any questions concerning where to vote, call your county clerk or visit the Voter Information Center available on the Web site https://cdcbp.ky.gov/VICWeb/index.jsp.
Absentee Ballots
If you are unable to get to the polls on election day, you may request an absentee ballot application from your county clerk's office in person, by mail, by phone or by fax. The deadline for applying for a mailed absentee ballot is seven days before an election, or May 13 for the Kentucky Primary Election on May 20 or Oct. 28 for the General Election. You must fulfill one of these qualifications in order to request a mailed absentee ballot:
- Due to advanced age, disability, illness or medical emergency
- You are a member of the armed forces or the dependent of a member of the armed forces
- You are military personnel confined to a military base on election day
- You temporarily reside overseas but are still eligible to vote in Kentucky
- You are a student attending school outside the county of your voter registration
- You temporarily live outside the state but are still eligible to vote in Kentucky
- You are incarcerated in jail and have been charged but not convicted of a felony
- You work outside the county and are unable to either vote on the absentee voting machine in the county clerk's office or in your polling place on election day
Early voting
A voting machine at the County Clerk's office is available during the last 12 (or more) working days before the election for certain qualified voters. If you do not qualify for a paper absentee ballot and meet one of the following conditions, you may vote an absentee ballot on a voting machine in the County Clerk's office.
- You will be out of the county on election day
- You are a pregnant woman in your third trimester
- You are a member or an employee of the county board of elections, deputy clerk, alternate precinct officer or appointed to a precinct other than that in which you are registered
- You are a member of the armed forces who will be confined to base within the county on election day and learn of that confinement within 7 days or less of the election
- You are a student attending school outside the county of your voter registration who will be absent from the county on election day
- You or your spouse who has surgery scheduled that will require hospitalization on election day.
- 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.
Identification requirements
All voters must produce identification or be known by a precinct officer prior to voting. Types of ID that can be used by the voter include personal acquaintance of precinct officer, driver's license, Social Security card, credit card, or another form of ID containing both picture and signature.
Provisional ballot
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 determined 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.