Persons entitled to have name on ballot -- Certification of names of candidates -- Eligibility of candidates defeated in primary -- Notification of vacancy in elective office -- Ineligibility of Senior Status Special Judge
KRS 118.305
in effect118.305. Persons entitled to have name on ballot -- Certification of names of candidates -- Eligibility of candidates defeated in primary -- Notification of vacancy in elective office -- Ineligibility of Senior Status Special Judge
(1) Except as provided in KRS 118.345, and subject to the provisions of subsections (2), (3), and (4) of this section, the county clerk of each county shall cause to be printed on all ballots, including the absentee ballots, for the regular election the names of the following persons:
(a) Candidates of a political party, as defined in KRS 118.015, who have received certificates of nomination at the preceding primary, or certificates of nomination under KRS 118.185, and whose certificates of nomination have been filed with the Secretary of State or the appropriate county clerk;
(b) Candidates of a political party, as defined in KRS 118.015, who have been nominated for an unexpired term in a manner determined by the governing authority of the party, as provided in KRS 118.115, and whose evidences of nomination have been filed with the Secretary of State or the appropriate county clerk within the time prescribed in this chapter;
(c) Candidates of a political party, as defined in KRS 118.015, who have been nominated by the governing authority of the party to fill a vacancy in the candidacy of a person nominated at the preceding primary, as provided in KRS 118.105, and whose certificates of nomination have been filed with the Secretary of State or the appropriate county clerk, by at least the date provided by the election law generally for such filing;
(d) Candidates who have been nominated by a political organization as provided in KRS 118.325 and whose certificates or petitions of nomination have been filed with the Secretary of State or the appropriate county clerk within the time prescribed in this chapter;
(e) Independent candidates who have been nominated by petition as provided in KRS 118.315, and whose petitions of nomination have been filed with the Secretary of State or the appropriate county clerk within the time prescribed in this chapter;
(f) Successful nominees of all nonpartisan primaries which shall have been conducted;
(g) Candidates who have filed a petition of candidacy as shall be required to fill a vacancy which shall appear on the ballot;
(h) The county clerk shall determine whether the name of any replacement candidate who has been nominated as provided in KRS 118.105(5) may be placed on the ballot and whether any voting equipment may be reprogrammed to count the votes cast for that candidate, or whether the ballot must be reprinted to accommodate votes cast for any replacement candidate, and shall take the appropriate action to accommodate the replacement of any candidate. If the county clerk determines that the name of any replacement candidate cannot be accommodated on the existing ballot and if there is insufficient time before the election to reprint the entire ballot, the county clerk shall request approval to use supplemental paper ballots for voting for that office only in the same manner as permitted for other situations in KRS 118.215(5), and, if approved, shall have an adequate number of supplemental paper ballots printed for voting for that office and only votes cast for that office by means of the supplemental paper ballots shall be tabulated and recorded by the precinct election officers and county board of elections. All actions by a county clerk, the State Board of Elections, and the Secretary of State which are necessary to provide for voting at a regular election for candidates nominated pursuant to KRS 118.105(5) shall be carried out with all possible speed. When a candidate has been replaced as provided in KRS 118.105(5) after absentee and federal provisional absentee ballots have been printed and distributed for the regular election, neither the precinct election officers nor the county board of elections shall tabulate or record any absentee or federal provisional absentee votes cast for the candidate who was replaced. If ballots are reprinted or supplemental paper ballots are printed, or if voting equipment must be reprogrammed to count the votes cast for a replacement candidate, the costs for the printing and reprogramming shall be paid by the political party who has nominated a replacement candidate, or proportionately by each political party if each party nominates a replacement candidate;
(i) Candidates for President and Vice President of the United States, of those political parties and organizations who have nominated presidential electors as provided in KRS 118.325, if the certificate of nomination of the electors has been filed with the Secretary of State within the time prescribed in this chapter;
(j) Candidates for soil and water district supervisors who have been nominated by petition as provided in KRS 262.210; and
(k) Candidates for city office for which no nonpartisan primary has been conducted in a city which requires nonpartisan city elections.
(2) Any candidate for city office who is defeated in a partisan or nonpartisan primary shall be ineligible as a candidate for the same office in the regular election.
(3) Candidates for members of boards of education shall have their names printed on ballots, including absentee ballots, for the regular election only after filing as provided in KRS 160.220.
(4) Except as provided in KRS 118.105 and 118.115, no candidate's name shall be printed upon any ballots, including federal provisional ballots, federal provisional absentee ballots, and absentee ballots for any regular election as the nominee of any political party, as defined in KRS 118.015, or under the emblem of any political party, as so defined, except those candidates who have been duly and regularly nominated as nominees of that party at a primary held as provided in this chapter.
(5) No county clerk shall knowingly cause to be printed, upon the ballots, federal provisional ballots, federal provisional absentee ballots, or absentee ballots for any regular election, the name of any candidate of a political party, as defined in KRS 118.015, who has not been nominated in the manner provided in the laws governing primaries or the name of any candidate who is not in compliance with the restrictions concerning party registration and candidacy provided in of KRS 118.315(1).
(6) The names of candidates for President and Vice President shall be certified in lieu of certifying the names of the candidates for presidential electors.
(7) When a vacancy occurs in an elective office which is required by law to be filled temporarily by appointment, the officer or body designated by law to make the appointment, or in the case of an office to be filled by appointment from a list of nominations, the officer or body designated by law to make the nominations, shall immediately notify in writing both the county clerk and Secretary of State of the vacancy.
(8) A judge who elected to retire as a Senior Status Special Judge in accordance with KRS 21.580 shall not become a candidate or a nominee for any elected office during the five (5) year term prescribed in KRS 21.580(1)(a)1., regardless of the number of days served by the judge acting as a Senior Status Special Judge.
Effective: June 29, 2021
History: Amended 2021 Ky. Acts ch. 197, sec. 52, effective June 29, 2021. -- Amended 2020 Ky. Acts ch. 89, sec. 28, effective July 15, 2020. -- Amended 2013 Ky. Acts ch. 66, sec. 4, effective June 25, 2013. -- Amended 2007 Ky. Acts ch. 46, sec. 2, effective June 26, 2007. -- Amended 1994 Ky. Acts ch. 482, sec. 2, effective April 13, 1994. -- Amended 1990 Ky. Acts ch. 48, sec. 44, effective July 13, 1990; and ch. 366, sec. 7, effective July 13, 1990. -- Amended 1988 Ky. Acts ch. 341, sec. 36, effective July 15, 1988. -- Amended 1986 Ky. Acts ch. 287, sec. 13, effective July 15, 1986. -- Amended 1984 Ky. Acts ch. 185, sec. 16, effective July 13, 1984. -- Amended 1982 Ky. Acts ch. 394, sec. 25, effective July 15, 1982. -- Created 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 130, sec. 116, effective June 21, 1974.
Source: Kentucky Legislative Research Commission (legislature.ky.gov)URL: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=51691Fetched: 10/20/2026