Voting In Kentucky

To be eligible to vote in Kentucky you must be:

• A U.S. citizen
• A resident of Kentucky for no less than 28 days before the election
• At least 18 years old by the date of the general election
• Not convicted of a felony (or, if so, have had your civil rights restored)
• Not judged mentally incompetent in a court of law
• Not claiming the right to vote anywhere outside Kentucky

ID is not required when registering to vote.

ID is required, however photo ID is not required. Acceptable forms of ID include a personal acquaintance or a document such as a motor vehicle operator's license, Social Security card, or credit card.

Your completed voter registration card must be mailed or returned at least 28 days prior to the election (Tuesday, October 7, 2008 for the General election)

To verify your voter registration status, use your state registration tool, or contact your local board of elections.

You can obtain an absentee ballot through your county clerk's office. To qualify for a mail-in absentee ballot, you must fulfill one of the following criteria:

• Be of advanced age
• Have a disability or illness
• Be a student who temporarily resides outside the county
• Temporarily reside outside of Kentucky (perhaps on vacation)
• Be incarcerated but not yet convicted
• Have a profession that takes you out of the county during the hours the polls are open

The deadline for applying for a mail-in absentee ballot is seven days before an election. The completed application must be received by the county clerk by mail or in person by the seven day deadline. The absentee ballot must be received in the county clerk's office by 6:00 pm on Election Day for the ballot to be counted.

You can apply for a medical emergency absentee ballot if a medical emergency occurs within 14 days before an election. The spouse of the voter can also apply for an absentee ballot.

You may request an application for an absentee ballot through your county clerk's office in person, by phone, by mail or by fax. Also, the voter's spouse, parent or child can request an application for a mail-in absentee ballot.

Overseas citizens and U.S. military personnel can find information on how to register to vote and request an absentee ballot at the Overseas Vote Foundation.

A voting machine is available at your county clerk's office 12 (or more) working days before the election for you to vote early if you are qualified. You must fulfill one of the below criteria in order to be eligible:

• You will be out of the county on Election Day
• You are a student or resident who temporarily resides outside of the county
• You have surgery scheduled and will require hospitalization on Election Day
• You are a spouse of a voter who is having surgery on Election day
• You are a pregnant woman in your third trimester
• You are a precinct election officer appointed to serve in precinct other than your own, an alternate precinct officer, a county board of elections member, a county board of elections member of staff, a deputy county clerk, or a state board of elections member of staff

Future election dates are to be determined. Please check with your local board of elections office for information on local elections.

In order to be a poll worker in Kentucky:

• You must be registered to vote in Kentucky
• You must be at least 18 years of age
• You will be entitled to compensation
• Political affiliation generally required
• You must be a resident of the precinct
• You must complete required training
• Each precinct allows one minor who is 17 years old to work. All minors who will turn 18 on the day or before the election may serve as an election officer

To sign up, contact your local board of elections.

Polls will be open from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm. All those in line by 6:00 pm will be able to vote.

3) Employers must allow employees up to 2 hours paid leave to vote during their regular work shift. This time is unpaid unless specified otherwise by the employer.

You can find your polling place by utilizing the Kentucky State Polling Place Locator Tool.

If you have further questions on your polling place location, please contact your county clerk.

You can vote on federal offices on a provisional ballot in federal elections if you live in the precinct and you find yourself under one of the following circumstances:

• Your name does not appear on the precinct roster and the registration status cannot be determined by the precinct officer
• Your name does not appear on the precinct roster and you have been verified as ineligible to vote
• You do not have identification
• You are 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
• You have been challenged by all four precinct election officers

If you want to check if your provisional ballot was counted or not, please go to the Kentucky state board of elections Provisional Voter Information page.

The voting systems used in Kentucky are optical scan and DRE.

Optical Scan: With this system, you will receive a card or sheet of paper, which you take over to a private table or booth. The card has the names of the various candidates and ballot measures printed on it. With a pen or pencil you fill in a little box or circle or the space between two arrows. When you are finished filling out all the cards, you may bring the cards over to a ballot box, where poll workers will show you how to put the cards in the box. Or in some places, you may feed the completed cards or papers into a computer device that checks your card or paper right there at the polling place to make sure you have voted the way you want to and counts the votes.

Direct Recording Electronic (DRE): This is the newest kind of system in use in the U.S. All the information about who and what you are voting for is on an electronic screen like a TV or computer screen.

There are many variations of DREs because lots of companies are inventing new ones, and many cities, counties and states are trying them out. Usually, after you have signed in, the poll workers will give you a card that you slide into a device to start your voting session.

Some of these devices will show all of the candidates and ballot choices on one big screen. Often, with these big screen devices you push a button next to the name of the candidate you want to vote for (or yes or no on a ballot measure). On other DREs, the screen is set up to show “pages.” On each screen or page, there will probably be one thing to vote on. For example, on one screen or page, you might vote for president. Then you might move to the next page to vote for senator. Often these small-screen devices have a “touch screen,” where you touch the screen next to the name of the person you want to vote for. Other devices have a key pad. And some have a keyboard, so you can write in the name of someone you want to vote for.

You let the system know you are finished voting by pushing a button, touching the screen or entering something on a keypad.

Information on local, state and federal candidates and ballot measures is available here.

Kentucky is 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, if you need assistance due to physical disability, blindness or an inability to read English, you may request voting assistance at the polls on Election Day. Physical disability and blindness are the only two reasons you may apply to the county board of elections for permanent voting assistance. You may receive assistance from someone of your choice or the two election officers at the polls. You may not be assisted by your employer, the employer's agent, a union officer or agent of your union.

For information on federal campaign contributions, please visit Open Secrets.

For information on state campaign contributions, please visit your state's resource.