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AN ACT relating to voter registration. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 116.045 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) Any person may register as a voter during the period registration is open if he or she 4
possesses, or will possess on the day of the next regular election, the qualifications 5
set forth in KRS 116.025. 6
(2) The county clerk shall cause all registration to be closed for twenty-one (21)[the 7
fourth Tuesday preceding through the first Monday following any primary or 8
general election, and the twenty-eight (28)] days prior to and seven (7) days 9
following any primary, general, or special election. If the last day of registration 10
falls on a state or federal holiday, the period runs until the end of the next day 11
which is not a Saturday or Sunday nor a state or federal holiday. During the period 12
that registration is closed, the county clerk may accept and process registrations. 13
Any voter who registers during the period that registration is closed, except for any 14
registered voter who transfers his or her registration pursuant to KRS 116.085(2) or 15
(3), shall not be permitted to vote in the upcoming election. 16
(3) In all counties, the county clerk shall receive registrations, transfers, or changes of 17
party affiliation at branch offices at any place in the county during those periods 18
that the registration books are open except for those transfers pursuant to KRS 19
116.085(2) or 116.085(3). However, notice in the manner provided by KRS Chapter 20
424 shall be given at least three (3), but not more than fourteen (14), days in 21
advance of the time and place of any branch registration, and ten (10) days' written 22
notice shall be given to the county executive committee of each major political 23
party in the county in which the branch registration is to be held. 24
(4) Any person may register to vote or may change his or her party affiliation in any of 25
the following ways: 26
(a) In person; 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 23 RS BR 1469
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(b) By mail; 1
(c) By means of the federal post card application, if the person is a resident of 2
Kentucky and a member of the Armed Forces, or a dependent of members of 3
the Armed Forces, or overseas citizen; 4
(d) By mail-in application form prescribed by the Election Assistance 5
Commission pursuant to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993; or 6
(e) By other methods of registration, or reregistration, approved by the State 7
Board of Elections, including the use of voluntary interested groups and 8
political parties, under the proper supervision and directions of the county 9
clerk, which may include door to door canvassing. 10
(5) Upon receipt of the form prescribed by the State Board of Elections or the Election 11
Assistance Commission pursuant to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, 12
properly filled out and signed by the applicant, the county clerk shall register the 13
applicant. 14
(6) Any individual or group shall have access to a reasonable number of voter 15
registration forms including the mail-in application form prescribed by the Election 16
Assistance Commission pursuant to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 in 17
the county clerk's office. The individual or group shall act under the proper 18
supervision and directions of the county clerk and shall return these completed 19
forms to the county clerk for official registration by the county clerk. 20
(7) No later than December 31, 1994, the Transportation Cabinet shall equip all driver's 21
license agencies to comply with the provisions of the National Voter Registration 22
Act of 1993. The Secretary of State shall provide assistance and interpretation to the 23
Transportation Cabinet in determining the requirements of the National Voter 24
Registration Act of 1993. 25
(8) The county clerk shall enter the specific party identification of the voter with a 26
political party, political organization, or political group as defined in KRS 118.015, 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 23 RS BR 1469
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or independent status, as indicated by the voter on the voter registration form, into 1
the statewide voter registration system. The State Board of Elections shall 2
promulgate regulations under KRS Chapter 13A to provide for tracking of the 3
registration of voters identifying with political organizations and political groups as 4
defined in KRS 118.015, and voters of independent status. 5
(9) For purposes of voter registration, no county clerk, governmental body of any city, 6
county, urban-county government, consolidated local government, unified local 7
government, charter county government, or any employee thereof, shall accept any 8
private monetary funds to assist with voter registration activities unless accepted as 9
part of a valid contract for goods and services. 10
Section 2. KRS 116.113 is amended to read as follows: 11
(1) Upon receipt of notification from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services or 12
other reliable sources of the death of a person, the State Board of Elections shall 13
within five (5) days cause the removal of the name of that person from the voter 14
registration records it maintains, except that no voter's name may be removed 15
during the period of time the registration books are closed for any primary, general, 16
or special election. 17
(2) Upon receipt of notification from the circuit clerk that a person has been declared 18
incompetent, the State Board of Elections shall within five (5) days cause the 19
removal of the name of that person from the voter registration records it maintains, 20
except that no voter's name may be removed during the period of time the 21
registration books are closed for any primary, general, or special election. 22
(3) Upon receipt of notification from the Administrative Office of the Courts that a 23
person has been convicted of a felony offense, the State Board of Elections shall 24
within five (5) days cause the removal of the name of that person from the voter 25
registration records it maintains, except that no voter's name may be removed 26
during the period of time the registration books are closed for any primary, general, 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 23 RS BR 1469
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or special election. 1
(4) Upon receipt of notification from a local or state jurisdiction that a voter has 2
registered to vote in the new local or state jurisdiction outside of the 3
Commonwealth, the State Board of Elections shall within five (5) days cause the 4
removal of the name of that person from the voter registration records that it 5
maintains, except that no voter's name may be removed during the period of time 6
the registration books are closed for any primary, regular election, or special 7
election. 8
(5) Following the purge of a name from the records of the State Board of Elections, the 9
state board shall notify the clerk of the county in which the voter lived of the action; 10
and the county clerk shall within ten (10) days update the county voter registration 11
files to reflect the necessary change. If a protest is filed by the voter, the county 12
board shall hear it at its next regular monthly meeting. If the county board decides 13
in favor of the protesting voter, the voter's registration record shall be restored, 14
including his or her voting record. If the protest is filed while the registration books 15
are closed and the county board decides in favor of the protesting voter, the county 16
board shall issue the voter an "Authorization to Vote" for the upcoming election 17
and the voter's record shall be restored when the registration books open following 18
the election. 19
(6) Upon receipt of notifications pursuant to subsections (1), (2), or (3) of this section 20
that occur within five (5) days of the closing of the registration books, the State 21
Board of Elections shall cause the removal of the name of that person from the 22
voter registration records before the registration books are closed. 23