Some elections in this list are local and do not apply for all Kentucky voters. Please click the “View all” button below to view all election dates in your state.
There are 2 ways to vote absentee: In-person and Mail-In. The qualification criteria are different for each. Both are described below.
Extra-Early Excused in-person absentee voting:
To qualify for Extra-Early excused in-person absentee voting, you must fulfill one of the following criteria:
Note: Normal early voting does NOT require an excuse and occurs the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before Election Day. To learn more click here.
Mail-In Absentee Voting:
Mail-in absentee ballots must be requested through the GoVoteKY.com portal. The last day to request an absentee ballot is 14 days before the election. Completed absentee ballots must be received by the county clerk’s office by 6pm local time on Election Day in order to be counted. To check the status of your absentee ballot click here.
To qualify for a mail-in absentee ballot, you must fulfill one of the following criteria:
The portal will open no later than 45 days prior to the election to receive absentee ballot requests. Voter ID will be verified through the portal.
Note: Voters who request a mailed absentee ballot are not able to vote in person instead, unless they have not received their requested absentee ballot.
Special Circumstances (Disability/No Internet, Active Military and People with Medical Emergencies within 14 Days of the Election.)
People with disabilities who are unable to use the portal, people who do not have internet and people who are otherwise unable to use the portal may call their County Clerk to have their information verified and entered into the portal for them.
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 on their behalf. You would request this through your county clerk’s office.
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.
Request your BallotFor information on federal campaign contributions, please visit Open Secrets.
For information on state campaign contributions, please visit your state's resource.
Information on local, state and federal candidates and ballot measures may be available here.
To see a list of available races, visit the race index.
Kentucky voters are now able to cast their absentee ballots by mail or a ballot drop-box. There is at least one drop-box per county. You can find your drop box location here or contact your local Elections Official.
All registered Kentucky voters who have not requested a mail-in absentee ballot can vote early without an excuse. State law calls this a “no-excuse in-person absentee ballot.”
When: The Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before Election Day. At least eight hours between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. each day, with the county board of elections choosing the exact times.
Where: Your county clerk's office or a place chosen by your county
board of elections.
OR
Extra-Early Excused in-person absentee:
Who: Registered Kentucky voters can vote extra early if they have one of the excuses listed here and cannot vote early or on Election Day.
When: The six business days before early voting times during normal business hours.
Where: Your county clerk's office or a place chosen by your county
board of elections
Registered Kentucky voters can vote extra early if they have one of the
excuses below and cannot vote early or on Election Day.
Find polling locations and times here: https://elect.ky.gov/Voters/Pages/Polling-Locations.aspx or contact your county clerk for additional information about voting locations and times.
The next election date can be found here https://www.vote411.org/kentucky or using your state's Election Calendar.
Contact your state Board of Election or local Elections Official for more information.
To be eligible to vote you must be:
When you register to vote online, you are required to enter you Social Security Number and Date of Birth in order to proceed. The portal confirms your ID by matching with Driver’s License records.
Free ID
The state will make you a free ID card. You get it where you can get a driver’s license, and drive.ky.gov is where you can find the nearest state office for that.
Kentucky now has a photo ID law for voting. To vote in Kentucky, you must bring identification showing your name and photograph from one of these sources:
The most common form of a valid photo ID is your driver’s license. Other examples of acceptable ID (as long as they include your name and photo) are:
A voter’s identity can still be confirmed by personal acquaintance with an election official, but now the election official must sign an affirmation.
Free ID
The state will make you a free ID card. You get it where you can get a driver’s license, and drive.ky.gov is where you can find the nearest state office for that.
Affirmation when you go to vote
At your polling place, you can fill out a form explaining why you cannot get an allowed photo ID. You will need to show one of these other IDs:
➔ Another identification card with your name and photo
➔ Social Security card
➔ Kentucky food stamp, EBT, or SNAP card with your name
➔ Credit or debit card with your name
➔ Identification issued by a Kentucky county and approved by the State Board
of Elections
Contact your state Board of Elections or local Elections Official for more information.
Voters can call or text 844-338-8743 at any time to reach VoteRiders Voter ID Helpline
Official results are never available on Election Day. Election officials are working around the clock to count an unprecedented number of ballots, and it’s essential that they take the time to make sure every vote is counted.
The earliest official election results for the state of Kentucky will be posted here. A record of past election results can be found here.
Official ResultsYou are a Military or Overseas voter if you are in uniformed services, living overseas OR a spouse or dependent of a uniformed services voter. To get registered and vote, you can utilize Overseas Vote Foundation.
Kentucky Remote Ballot Access System https://kentucky.enhancedballot.com/kentucky
If you have additional questions about elections and voting overseas you can use our state specific elections official directory or contact the Overseas Vote Foundation.
You can make sure we have safe, fair, and efficient elections for all. Become a poll worker today!
In order to be a poll worker in Kentucky, you must:
To learn more or apply to serve as a poll worker in your county for Kentucky, go here. And also contact your local Elections Official.
Voting hours on Election Day will be from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm. For the three days of early voting, (Thurs, Fri, Sat) before Election Day, find hours here. or contact your local Elections Official.
For Election Day voting places, ask at your county clerk’s office or visit elect.ky.gov and choose “Find Your Polling Location”
You can find your election-day polling place here: https://elect.ky.gov/Voters/Pages/Polling-Locations.aspx
Voting locations may have changed due to:
For Election Day voting places, ask at your county clerk’s office or visit elect.ky.gov and choose “Find Your Polling Location”
Kentucky is a “closed primary” state. In order to vote in the primary election, voters must be registered with a political party. Unaffiliated or independent voters are not able to participate in the primary.
If you have any questions about your state’s primary election, please contact your local election officials.
You can vote on federal offices on a provisional ballot if you live in the precinct and you find yourself under one of the approved circumstances.
Those circumstances are:
Provisional ballots are counted by 12pm the Friday after the election. 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.
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.
Note: VOTERS WHO DO NOT READ ENGLISH HAVE THE RIGHT TO BRING AN INTERPRETER WITH THEM TO THE POLLING PLACE
For more information, you can utilize the American Association of People With Disabilities (AAPD) resource.
The deadline to register online to vote in the 2022 General Election is October 11, 2022.
You can now update your current registration or register to vote for the first time online! Your completed registration must be mailed or returned at least 29 days before the election to the State Board of Elections or your county clerk.
You have several options to register to vote or update your voter registration.
The 2022 General Election is November 8, 2022. The deadline to register online to vote in the 2022 General Election is October 11, 2022 at 4:00 pm local time.
Employers must allow employees up to 4 hours to vote during their regular work shift.
To verify your voter registration status
click here!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.
You can learn more about voting systems by checking out the Elections Assistance Commission's (EAC) resource or the KY Board of Elections site.
Secretary of State
700 Capital Avenue
Suite 152
Frankfort 40601
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