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AN ACT relating to elections. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
SECTION 1. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 45A IS CREATED TO 3
READ AS FOLLOWS: 4
(1) All costs and expenses related to election administration shall be paid for with 5
public funds. 6
(2) An employee of a governmental body shall not solicit, take, or otherwise accept 7
any private contribution, donation, or anything of value to assist with election 8
administration within this state. This subsection shall not apply to a lawful 9
contract for goods and services or an acceptance of food or non-alcoholic 10
beverages. 11
SECTION 2. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 65 IS CREATED TO 12
READ AS FOLLOWS: 13
(1) All costs and expenses related to election administration shall be paid for with 14
public funds. 15
(2) An employee of a governmental body of a city, county, urban-county government, 16
consolidated local government, unified local government, or charter county 17
government shall not solicit, take, or otherwise accept any private contribution, 18
donation, or anything of value to assist with election administration within this 19
state. This subsection shall not apply to a lawful contract for goods and services 20
or an acceptance of food or non-alcoholic beverages. 21
Section 3. KRS 116.045 is amended to read as follows: 22
(1) Any person may register as a voter during the period registration is open if he or she 23
possesses, or will possess on the day of the next regular election, the qualifications 24
set forth in KRS 116.025. 25
(2) The county clerk shall cause all registration to be closed the fourth Tuesday 26
preceding through the first Monday following any primary or general election, and 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS HB 301/EN
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the twenty-eight (28) days prior to and seven (7) days following any special 1
election. If the last day of registration falls on a state or federal holiday, the period 2
runs until the end of the next day which is not a Saturday or Sunday nor a state or 3
federal holiday. During the period that registration is closed, the county clerk may 4
accept and process registrations. Any voter who registers during the period that 5
registration is closed, except for any registered voter who transfers his or her 6
registration pursuant to KRS 116.085(2) or (3), shall not be permitted to vote in the 7
upcoming election. 8
(3) In all counties, the county clerk shall receive registrations, transfers, or changes of 9
party affiliation at branch offices at any place in the county during those periods that 10
the registration books are open except for those transfers pursuant to KRS 11
116.085(2) or 116.085(3). However, notice in the manner provided by KRS Chapter 12
424 shall be given at least three (3), but not more than fourteen (14), days in 13
advance of the time and place of any branch registration, and ten (10) days' written 14
notice shall be given to the county executive committee of each major political 15
party in the county in which the branch registration is to be held. 16
(4) Any person may register to vote or may change his or her party affiliation in any of 17
the following ways: 18
(a) In person; 19
(b) By mail; 20
(c) By means of the federal post card application, if the person is a resident of 21
Kentucky and a member of the Armed Forces, or a dependent of members of 22
the Armed Forces, or overseas citizen; 23
(d) By mail-in application form prescribed by the Election Assistance 24
Commission pursuant to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993; or 25
(e) By other methods of registration, or reregistration, approved by the State 26
Board of Elections, including the use of voluntary interested groups and 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS HB 301/EN
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political parties, under the proper supervision and directions of the county 1
clerk, which may include door to door canvassing. 2
(5) Upon receipt of the form prescribed by the State Board of Elections or the Election 3
Assistance Commission pursuant to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, 4
properly filled out and signed by the applicant, the county clerk shall register the 5
applicant. 6
(6) Any individual or group shall have access to a reasonable number of voter 7
registration forms including the mail-in application form prescribed by the Election 8
Assistance Commission pursuant to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 in 9
the county clerk's office. The individual or group shall act under the proper 10
supervision and directions of the county clerk and shall return these completed 11
forms to the county clerk for official registration by the county clerk. 12
(7) No later than December 31, 1994, the Transportation Cabinet shall equip all driver's 13
license agencies to comply with the provisions of the National Voter Registration 14
Act of 1993. The Secretary of State shall provide assistance and interpretation to the 15
Transportation Cabinet in determining the requirements of the National Voter 16
Registration Act of 1993. 17
(8) The county clerk shall enter the specific party identification of the voter with a 18
political party, political organization, or political group as defined in KRS 118.015, 19
or independent status, as indicated by the voter on the voter registration form, into 20
the statewide voter registration system. The State Board of Elections shall 21
promulgate regulations under KRS Chapter 13A to provide for tracking of the 22
registration of voters identifying with political organizations and political groups as 23
defined in KRS 118.015, and voters of independent status. 24
(9) For purposes of voter registration, no county clerk, governmental body of any 25
city, county, urban-county government, consolidated local government, unified 26
local government, charter county government, or any employee thereof, shall 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS HB 301/EN
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accept any private monetary funds to assist with voter registration activities 1
unless accepted as part of a valid contract for goods and services. 2
Section 4. KRS 117.015 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) There shall be a State Board of Elections that is an independent agency of state 4
government, which shall administer the election laws of the state and supervise 5
registration and purgation of voters within the state. The board: 6
(a) May promulgate administrative regulations necessary to properly carry out its 7
duties;[ and] 8
(b) Shall promulgate administrative regulations establishing a procedure for 9
elections officials to follow when an election has been suspended or delayed 10
as described in KRS 39A.100; and 11
(c) Shall be prohibited from accepting any private monetary funds for election 12
administration unless accepted as part of a valid contract for goods and 13
services. 14
(2) The board shall consist of the following: 15
(a) The Secretary of State, who shall be an ex officio, nonvoting member, and 16
who shall also serve as the chief election official for the Commonwealth; 17
(b) Two (2) members appointed by the Governor as provided in subsection (6) of 18
this section; 19
(c) Six (6) voting members appointed by the Governor as provided in subsection 20
(5) of this section; and 21
(d) An executive director appointed in accordance with KRS 117.025, who may 22
vote only to break a tie regarding selection of the chair of the board. 23
(3) A chair of the board, who is a then-current voting member of the board, shall be 24
elected as chair of the board by a majority of the voting members who serve on the 25
board. The chair shall preside at the meetings of the board and vote on matters 26
before the board. 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS HB 301/EN
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(4) The members shall serve for a term of four (4) years or until their successors are 1
appointed. Members shall be at least twenty-five (25) years of age and qualified 2
voters of this state. No appointed member shall be a candidate for public office or 3
have been a candidate for public office for two (2) years prior to his or her 4
appointment, except as provided in subsection (2)(b) of this section. No member of 5
the board shall have been convicted of any election law offense. 6
(5) Two (2) members shall be appointed by the Governor from a separate list of at least 7
five (5) names submitted by the state central executive committee of each of the two 8
(2) political parties that polled the largest vote in the last preceding election for state 9
officials. The list shall be submitted to the Governor by February 15 of 1992, and 10
the appointments of the Governor shall be made by April 1 of the same year. Two 11
(2) separate lists shall be submitted to the Governor by August 15 of 1990 and every 12
four (4) years thereafter, and two (2) appointments shall be made from these lists by 13
September 15 of each year in which the lists are received. 14
(6) Two (2) members shall be appointed by the Governor from a separate list of at least 15
four (4) names submitted by the Kentucky County Clerk's Association of each of 16
the two (2) political parties that polled the largest vote in the last preceding regular 17
election for state officials. Each of the two (2) members appointed under this 18
subsection shall be former county clerks and shall be voting members. The lists 19
required under this subsection shall be submitted to the Governor by July 15, 2019, 20
and every four (4) years thereafter. The appointments made by the Governor under 21
this subsection shall be made by August 15, 2019, and every four (4) years 22
thereafter. 23
(7) Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as provided for original appointments, 24
and the person appointed to fill the vacancy shall be of the same political party as 25
his or her predecessor. 26
(8) The board shall meet as often as necessary to carry out its duties and shall keep a 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS HB 301/EN
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record of its acts, orders, findings, and proceedings. A majority of the board shall 1
constitute a quorum. 2
(9) The members of the board shall be paid a reasonable sum to be fixed by the 3
secretary of the Personnel Cabinet, with the approval of the secretary of the Finance 4
and Administration Cabinet, and in addition, their expenses in attending board 5
meetings. The compensation shall be paid out of the State Treasury upon requisition 6
signed by the chair of the board and approved by the secretary of the Finance and 7
Administration Cabinet. 8
Section 5. KRS 117.995 is amended to read as follows: 9
(1) Any person appointed to serve as an election officer but who shall knowingly and 10
willfully fail to serve and who is not excused by the county board of elections for 11
the reasons specified in this chapter shall be guilty of a violation and shall be 12
ineligible to serve as an election officer for a period of five (5) years. 13
(2) Any county clerk or member of the county board of elections who knowingly and 14
willfully violates any of the provisions of this chapter, including furnishing 15
applications for absentee ballots, applications for federal provisional absentee 16
ballots, and mail-in absentee ballots to persons other than those specified by the 17
provisions of this chapter, and failure to type the name of the voter on the 18
application form as required by the provisions of this chapter, shall be guilty of a 19
Class D felony. 20
(3) Any officer who willfully fails to prepare or furnish ballots, federal provisional 21
ballots, federal provisional absentee ballots, or absentee ballots or fails to allow a 22
qualified voter to cast his or her vote using voting equipment as required of the 23
voter by this chapter shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. 24
(4) Any election officer who knowingly and willfully violates any of the provisions of 25
this chapter, including failure to enforce the prohibition against electioneering 26
established by KRS 117.235, shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor for the first 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS HB 301/EN
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offense and a Class D felony for each subsequent offense. 1
(5) Any person who violates KRS 117.0861, or who signs a name other than his or her 2
own on an application for an absentee ballot, the verification form for the ballot, an 3
emergency absentee ballot affidavit, a voter or election official affirmation, or any 4
person who votes an absentee ballot other than the one issued in his or her name, or 5
any person who applies for the ballot for the use of anyone other than himself or 6
herself or the person designated by the provisions of this chapter, or any person who 7
makes a false statement on an application for an absentee ballot or on an emergency 8
absentee ballot affidavit shall be guilty of a Class D felony. 9
(6) Any person who violates any provision of KRS 117.235 or 117.236 related to 10
prohibited activities during absentee voting or on election day, after he or she has 11
been duly notified of the provisions by any precinct election officer, county clerk, 12
deputy county clerk, or other law enforcement official, shall, for each offense, be 13
guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. 14
(7) Any person who knowingly and willfully prepares or assists in the preparation of an 15
inaccurate or incomplete voter assistance form or fails to complete a voter 16
assistance form when required shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor for the first 17
offense and a Class D felony for each subsequent offense; however, if a voter has 18
been permanently certified as requiring voting assistance, there shall be no offense 19
for the failure of the voter to complete the form. 20
(8) The members of a county board of elections who fail to provide the training to 21
precinct election officers required by KRS 117.187(2) shall be subject to removal 22
by the State Board of Elections. 23
(9) Any local or state election official, including the Secretary of State, employees of 24
the Secretary, and members of the State Board of Elections and their staff, who 25
knowingly and willfully uses the voter registration roster in violation of KRS 26
117.025(3)(a) shall, for each offense, be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS HB 301/EN
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(10) Any person who knowingly and willfully violates subsection (2) of Section 1 of 1
this Act or subsection (2) of Section 2 of this Act shall, for a first offense, be 2
guilty of a Class D felony. For a second or subsequent offense, the person shall 3
be guilty of a Class C felony. 4
Section 6. This Act may be cited as the Stop Outside Influence Over Elections 5
Act of 2022. 6