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AN ACT relating to digital precinct boundary requirements. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 117.055 is amended to read as follows: 3
Subject to KRS 117.0551 to 117.0555: 4
(1) Each county shall be divided into election precincts by the county board of 5
elections. Each election precinct shall be composed of contiguous and, as nearly as 6
practicable, compact areas having clearly definable boundaries and wholly 7
contained within any larger district. The county board of elections shall establish 8
precincts so that no boundary of a precinct crosses the boundary of: 9
(a) The Commonwealth; 10
(b) A county or urban-county; 11
(c) A congressional district; 12
(d) A state senatorial district; 13
(e) A state representative district; 14
(f) A justice of the peace or county commissioner's district established under 15
KRS Chapter 67; or 16
(g) An aldermanic ward established under KRS 83.440. 17
(2) The county board of elections shall have the authority to draw precinct lines so as to 18
enable more than one (1) precinct to vote at one (1) location. The county board of 19
elections shall review election precinct boundaries as often as necessary. Without 20
exception, they shall review the boundaries of all election precincts exceeding 21
seven hundred (700) votes cast in the last regular election prior to each primary 22
election, and the State Board of Elections may require a written report at least sixty 23
(60) days prior to the candidate filing deadline set forth in KRS 118.165(1) and (2) 24
on each election precinct exceeding seven hundred (700) votes cast in the last 25
regular election. Consideration to the division of said election precincts should be 26
based on the anticipated growth factor within the specified boundaries; however, 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 2230
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the county board of elections shall not be prohibited from dividing election 1
precincts in excess of seven hundred (700) votes cast in the last regular election or 2
less than seven hundred (700) votes cast in the last regular election if they elect to 3
do so. However, the State Board of Elections may, in its discretion, withhold from a 4
county the expenses of an election under KRS 117.345 for any precinct containing 5
more than one thousand five hundred (1,500) registered voters, excluding those 6
precincts utilizing optical scan voting equipment and those periods of time in which 7
the precinct boundaries have been frozen under KRS 117.056. 8
(3) No election precinct shall be created, divided, abolished, or consolidated or the 9
boundaries therein changed prior to any primary to comply with the provisions of 10
KRS 117.055 to 117.0555 and KRS 117.0557 later than the last date prescribed by 11
election law generally for filing notification and declaration forms with the county 12
clerk or Secretary of State. No election precinct shall be created, divided, abolished, 13
or consolidated or the boundaries therein changed prior to any regular election to 14
comply with the provisions of KRS 117.055 to 117.0555 and KRS 117.0557 later 15
than the last date prescribed by election law generally for filing certificates or 16
petitions of nomination with the county clerk or Secretary of State. 17
(4) The county board of elections shall designate the name or number and the 18
boundaries of the election precincts. Each precinct shall contain, as nearly as 19
practicable, an equal number of voters, based on the number of registered voters in 20
the county. 21
(5) A digital precinct boundary file in an ESRI ArcGIS Shapefile or file geodatabase 22
format, georeferenced to a Kentucky State Plane Coordinate System in 23
accordance with KRS 1.020,[map] and a detailed description[listing] of the exact 24
election precinct boundaries shall be filed by the county board of elections with the 25
State Board of Elections.[, and] Any changes in boundaries thereafter made shall 26
also be filed with the State Board of Elections. A copy of a[this] map created from 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 2230
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the digital precinct boundary file depicting[indicating] all precinct boundaries 1
within the county in relation to key geographically identifiable visible features as 2
described in subsection (3) of Section 2 of this Act shall be included in the election 3
supplies of each precinct. 4
(6) The Commonwealth's digital precinct boundary data shall be stored and 5
maintained in the central statewide geographic information clearinghouse as in 6
accordance with KRS 42.655(1). 7
(7) If the county board of elections fails to perform any of the duties required by KRS 8
117.055 to 117.0555 and KRS 117.0557: 9
(a) The State Board of Elections or any citizen and voter of the county may apply 10
to the Circuit Court of the county for a summary mandatory order requiring 11
the board to perform the duty. Appeals may be taken to the Court of Appeals 12
by either party; and 13
(b) The State Board of Elections shall not submit claims for payments to the 14
county under KRS 117.343 and 117.345 until the State Board of Elections 15
determines in writing that the duty has been performed. 16
(8)[(7)] The county board of elections shall coordinate all precinct boundary changes 17
with the affected school board, magisterial, and municipal boundaries. 18
Section 2. KRS 117.0551 is amended to read as follows: 19
(1) A county board of elections shall establish election precincts so that each boundary 20
of each precinct follows: 21
(a) A boundary described in KRS 117.055(1); 22
(b) The boundary of an incorporated city; 23
(c) A boundary of an urban-county legislative district established under KRS 24
Chapter 67A; 25
(d) A boundary of a school district or school district division established under 26
KRS Chapter 160; or 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 2230
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(e) A boundary of a census tract or census block established by the United States 1
Bureau of the Census for the most recent decennial census of population and 2
appearing on census block boundary maps. 3
(2) If a county board of elections cannot establish a precinct that complies with KRS 4
117.055 by using the boundaries permitted under subsection (1) of this section, the 5
county board of elections may either: 6
(a) Establish the precinct boundary by using a boundary following a visible 7
feature, including but not limited to a highway, railroad, or stream centerline, 8
and an extension of that visible feature to, but not across, another visible 9
feature, nor across an extension of another feature that is used as a precinct 10
boundary; or 11
(b) Request an exemption under KRS 117.0553 and 117.0554. 12
(3) For purposes of this section, a "visible feature" is a physical feature shown on 13
official maps or in geographic information system (GIS) layers that are solely or 14
both prepared and maintained by: 15
(a) The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet; 16
(b) The United States Geological Survey; [or] 17
(c) The United States Bureau of the Census; 18
(d) The Kentucky Department of Revenue; or 19
(e) The Commonwealth Office of Technology. 20
Section 3. KRS 117.0552 is amended to read as follows: 21
(1) As used in KRS 117.055 to 117.0555 and KRS 117.0557, "establish a precinct" 22
shall include the following: 23
(a) Creating a new precinct; 24
(b) Dividing one (1) precinct into two (2) or more precincts; 25
(c) Combining two (2) or more precincts into one (1) precinct; and 26
(d) Altering a boundary line between two (2) or more precincts. 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 2230
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(2) Each county board of elections shall establish precincts by issuing a proposed 1
precinct establishment order. Each proposed precinct establishment order shall be 2
submitted to the executive director of the State Board of Elections for approval. 3
(3) The order prescribed in subsection (2) of this section shall include: 4
(a) A written description of the boundaries of each precinct to be established; 5
(b) A digital precinct boundary file, submitted in an ESRI ArcGIS Shapefile or 6
file geodatabase format, that has been georeferenced to the Kentucky State 7
Place Coordinate System in accordance with KRS 1.020[map or maps] 8
clearly showing the boundaries of each precinct to be established; 9
(c) The estimated number of registered voters in each precinct to be established; 10
and 11
(d) Any additional information which may be required by an administrative 12
regulation adopted by the State Board of Elections under KRS Chapter 13A 13
for the purposes of assuring compliance with KRS 117.055 to 117.0555 and 14
KRS 117.0557. 15
(4) If a proposed precinct establishment order includes a description of a precinct with 16
a boundary that follows the boundary of an entity referred to in KRS 117.0551(1), 17
the order shall include the following: 18
(a) A description that precisely identifies the boundary line; and 19
(b) A digital precinct boundary file[notation on the map] of the precinct 20
indicating that the boundary is that of an entity referred to in KRS 21
117.0551(1) and naming the specific entity. 22
(5) If a proposed precinct establishment order includes a description of a precinct 23
boundary that follows one or more visible features as described in subsection (2)(a) 24
of Section 2 of this Act, the order shall include: 25
(a) A reference map that corresponds to a detailed description that precisely 26
identifies each feature that forms the precinct boundary; and 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 2230
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(b) A digital precinct boundary file that includes the visible features. 1
Section 4. KRS 117.0557 is amended to read as follows: 2
[Not later than January 1, 1995, ]The boundaries of all election precincts in the 3
Commonwealth shall comply with KRS 117.055 and 117.0551, and all county boards of 4
elections shall have filed with the State Board of Elections digital precinct boundary 5
files[maps] and detailed descriptions of precinct boundaries that provide the information 6
required by KRS 117.055 and 117.0552. For the purpose of implementing this section: 7
(1) [By July 15, 1993, ]The State Board of Elections, in consultation with the 8
Legislative Research Commission, shall review the boundaries of all precincts in 9
effect [on July 14, 1992, ]to determine whether or not the boundaries comply with 10
KRS 117.055 and 117.0551. If the State Board of Elections finds that a precinct 11
boundary does not comply with KRS 117.055 and 117.0551, it shall so notify the 12
county board of elections in writing. 13
(2) [By July 15, 1993, ]The State Board of Elections, in consultation with the 14
Legislative Research Commission, shall review the digital precinct boundary 15
files[maps] and detailed descriptions of precinct boundaries on file with the State 16
Board of Elections to determine if the boundaries of all precincts in effect [on July 17
14, 1992, ]are described and mapped in a manner that provides the information 18
required by KRS 117.055 and 117.0552. If the State Board of Elections finds that 19
the information on file does not provide the information required by KRS 117.055 20
and 117.0552, it shall so notify the county board of elections in writing. 21
(3) If a county board of elections receives notice under subsection (1) or (2) of this 22
section, it shall prepare a proposed precinct establishment order to establish a 23
precinct boundary in compliance with KRS 117.055 and 117.0551, or provide a 24
digital precinct boundary files[map] and detailed description of the precinct 25
boundary in compliance with KRS 117.055 and 117.0552, or both[, not later than 26
July 15, 1994]. The proposed precinct establishment order shall be processed in the 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 2230
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manner prescribed by KRS 117.0552 to 117.0555. 1