As always, it's best to double check with your state for any recent changes to election rules: Kentucky Election Website
COVID-19 info for Kentucky
- COVID-19, Department for Public Health, Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Human Services
Kentucky voter registration
- In Person: 29 days before Election Day.
- By Mail: Postmarked 29 days before Election Day.
- Online: 29 days before Election Day.
N/A
- To register in Kentucky you must:
- be a citizen of the United States
- be a resident of Kentucky for at least 28 days before to Election Day
- be 18 years of age on or before the next general election
- not be a convicted felon or if you have been convicted of a felony, your civil rights must have been restored by executive pardon
- not have been judged “mentally incompetent” in a court of law
- not claim the right to vote anywhere outside Kentucky
- Use our Register to Vote Tool to fill out the National Voter Registration Form.
- Sign and date your form. This is very important!
- Mail or hand-deliver your completed form to the address we provide.
- Make sure you register before the voter registration deadline.
- If you have been convicted of a felony and have questions about whether you can register to vote, visit Restore Your Vote to determine your eligibility.
Kentucky absentee ballots
- In Person: For the 2020 general election, received by October 9th.
- By Mail: For the 2020 general election, received by October 9th.
- Online: Received 25 days before Election Day.
- Received by 6pm Election Day.
You may vote by absentee ballot by mail in Kentucky if:
- you are advanced in age, disabled, or ill
- you are a military personnel or their dependent, or an overseas citizen
- you are a student who temporarily resides outside the county
- you are a voter who temporarily resides outside of Kentucky and who maintains eligibility to vote in Kentucky, such as a "snowbird"
- you are incarcerated, but not yet convicted of a crime
- you are employed outside of the county all hours the polling place is open
- you are a program participant in the Department of State's Address Confidentiality Program
You can vote by absentee ballot in person in Kentucky if:
- you will be out of the county on election day
- you are advanced in age, disabled, or ill
- you are a military personnel, their dependent, or an overseas citizen
- you are a military personnel confined to base and learn of your confinement within seven days or less of an election
- you are a student or resident who temporarily resides outside of the county
- you are a voter or the spouse of a voter who has surgery scheduled that will require hospitalization on Election Day
- you are a pregnant woman in third trimester
- you are a precinct election officer appointed to serve in precinct other than his own, an alternate precinct election officer, County Board of Elections’ members or staff, Deputy county clerk, or State Board of Elections’ staff
- Use our Absentee Ballot Tool to prepare your application if your state allows.
- Sign and date the form. This is very important!
- Return your completed application to your Local Election Office as soon as possible. We'll provide the mailing address or contact information for you.
- All Local Election Offices will accept mailed or hand-delivered forms. If it's close to the deadline, call and see if your Local Election Office will let you fax or email the application.
- Double-check the deadlines and be sure to cast your voted ballot on time so that it is counted.
- Please contact your Local Election Office if you have any further questions about the exact process.
- Once you receive the ballot, carefully read and follow the instructions.
- Sign and date where indicated.
- Mail your voted ballot back to the address indicated on the return envelope.
- Double-check the deadlines and be sure to cast your voted ballot on time to be sure it is counted.
Kentucky Early Voting
21 days before Election Day.
The day before Election Day.
Kentucky voter ID
If you are voting in person in Kentucky, you must present one of the following forms of ID that includes your name and photograph:
- ID issued by the Kentucky government
- ID issued by the US government
- ID issued by a public or private college, university, or postgraduate technical or professional school located in the US
- ID issued by a city, county, or other local government in Kentucky
If you apply to vote by mail-in absentee ballot you must either include a copy of an approved form of ID or you must sign an affirmation that you are eligible to vote and could not get an ID because you faced one of the following barriers:
- You lacked transportation
- You were unable to obtain your birth certificate or other documents needed to show proof of identification
- Work schedule
- Lost or stolen identification
- Disability or illness
- The ID has been applied for, but not yet received
- You have a religious objection to being photographed
The approved forms of ID are::
- ID issued by the Kentucky government
- ID issued by the US government
- ID issued by a public or private college, university, or postgraduate technical or professional school located in the US
- ID issued by a city, county, or other local government in Kentucky
You are not required to include a copy of your ID with your mail-in absentee ballot.
Offsite links
- State Election Website
- Local Election Office: This is the government office responsible for running elections in your region. Theses are the best people to contact if you have any questions at all about voting in your state.
- Find your polling place
- Absentee ballot tracker tool
- Learn more about absentee voting
- Learn more about early voting
- Learn more about voter ID
- State Election Code