AN ACT relating to elections.

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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. KRS 118.125 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) Except as provided in KRS 118.155, any person who is qualified under the 4
provisions of KRS 116.055 to vote in any primary for the candidates for nomination 5
by the party at whose hands he or she seeks the n omination, shall have his or her 6
name printed on the official ballot of his or her party for an office to which he or 7
she is eligible in that primary, upon filing, with the Secretary of State or county 8
clerk, as appropriate, at the proper time, a notification and declaration. 9
(2) The notification and declaration shall be in the form prescribed by the State Board 10
of Elections. It shall be signed by the candidate , but the candidate's signature[ and 11
by not less than two (2) registered voters, who at the time of signing are of the same 12
party as the candidate and from the district or jurisdiction from which the candidate 13
seeks nomination. Signatures for nomination papers] shall not be affixed on the 14
document to be filed prior to the first Wednesday after the firs t Monday in 15
November of the year preceding the year in which the office will appear on the 16
ballot. The notification and declaration for a candidate shall include the following 17
oath: 18
"For the purpose of having my name placed on the official primary electi on 19
ballot as a candidate for nomination by the ------ Party, I, ------ (name in full as 20
desired on the ballot as provided in KRS 118.129), do solemnly swear that my date 21
of birth is ----- (month/day/year), that my residence address is ----- (street, route, 22
highway, city if applicable, county, state, and zip code), that my mailing address, if 23
different, is ----- (post office address), and that I am a registered ------ (party) voter; 24
that I believe in the principles of the ------ Party, and intend to support its principles 25
and policies; that I meet all the statutory and constitutional qualifications for the 26
office which I am seeking; that if nominated as a candidate of such party at the 27
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ensuing election I will accept the nomination and not withdraw for reasons other 1
than those stated in KRS 118.105(3); that I will not knowingly violate any election 2
law or any law relating to corrupt and fraudulent practice in campaigns or elections 3
in this state, and if finally elected I will qualify for the office." 4
The declaration shall be subscribed and sworn to by the candidate before an officer 5
authorized to administer an oath[ by the candidate and by the two (2) voters making 6
the declaration and signing the candidate's petition for office]. 7
(3) When the notice and declaration has been filed with the Secretary of State or county 8
clerk, as appropriate, and certified according to KRS 118.165, the Secretary of State 9
or county clerk, as appropriate, shall have the candidate's name printed on the ballo t 10
according to the provisions of this chapter, except as provided in KRS 118.185. 11
(4) Titles, ranks, or spurious phrases shall not be accepted on the filing papers and shall 12
not be printed on the ballots as part of the candidate's name; however, nicknames, 13
initials, and contractions of given names may be acceptable as the candidate's name. 14
Section 2. KRS 118A.060 is amended to read as follows: 15
(1) Except as provided in KRS 118A.100, no person's name shall appear on a ball ot, 16
including an absentee ballot, for an office of the Court of Justice without first 17
having been nominated as provided in this section. 18
(2) Each candidate for nomination shall file a petition for nomination with the 19
Secretary of State not earlier than the first Wednesday after the first Monday in 20
November of the year preceding the year in which the office will appear on the 21
ballot and not later than the first Friday following the first Monday in January 22
preceding the day fixed by law for holding the primar y for the office. The petition 23
shall be sworn to [ before an officer authorized to administer an oath] by the 24
candidate before an officer authorized to administer an oath [ and by not less than 25
two (2) registered voters from the district or circuit from whic h he or she seeks 26
nomination]. The petition shall be signed by the candidate, but the candidate's 27
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signature[Signatures for nomination papers] shall not be affixed on the document 1
to be filed prior to the first Wednesday after the first Monday in November o f the 2
year preceding the year in which the office will appear on the ballot. The petition 3
shall be filed no later than 4 p.m. local time at the place of filing when filed on the 4
last date on which the papers are permitted to be filed. 5
(3) (a) The petition for nomination shall be in the form prescribed by the State Board 6
of Elections. The petition shall include a declaration sworn to by the 7
candidate, that he or she possesses all the constitutional and statutory 8
requirements of the office for which the candi date has filed. Titles, ranks, or 9
spurious phrases shall not be accepted on the petition and shall not be printed 10
on the ballots as part of the candidate's name; however, nicknames, initials, 11
and contractions of given names may be acceptable as the candidate's name. 12
(b) The Secretary of State shall certify the exact spelling and form of the name of 13
the candidate to be printed on all ballots in accordance with the requirements 14
listed in KRS 118.129. 15
(4) The Secretary of State shall examine the petition of ea ch candidate to determine 16
whether it is regular on its face. If there is an error, the Secretary of State shall 17
notify the candidate by certified mail within twenty -four (24) hours of filing. The 18
order of names on the ballot for each district or circuit, a nd numbered division if 19
divisions exist, shall be determined by lot at a public drawing to be held in the 20
office of the Secretary of State at 2 p.m., standard time, on the Thursday following 21
the filing deadline for the primary as established in this sectio n and in KRS 22
83A.045 and 118.165. 23
(5) Not later than the date set forth in KRS 118.215(1)(a) preceding the primary, and 24
after the order of names on the ballot has been determined as required in subsection 25
(4) of this section, the Secretary of State shall: 26
(a) Certify to the county clerks of the respective counties entitled to participate in 27
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the election of the various candidates, the name and place of residence of each 1
candidate for each office, by district or circuit, and numbered division if 2
divisions exist, as specified in the petitions for nomination filed with him or 3
her; and 4
(b) Designate for the county clerks the office of the Court of Justice with which 5
the names of candidates shall be printed and the order in which they are to 6
appear on the ballot. 7
(6) The ballot position of a candidate shall not be changed after the ballot position has 8
been designated by the Secretary of State. 9
(7) The county clerks of each county shall cause to be printed on the ballots for the 10
primary the names of the candidates for offices in the Court of Justice. 11
(8) The names of the candidates shall be placed on the ballots in a separate column or 12
columns or in a separate line or lines and identified by the words "Judicial Ballot." 13
The words "Vote for one," or "Vote for one in e ach division," shall be printed on 14
the ballot in an appropriate location. The office, numbered division if divisions 15
exist, and the candidates shall be clearly labeled. No party designation or emblem 16
of any kind, nor any sign indicating any candidate's pol itical belief or party 17
affiliation, shall be used on the ballots. 18
(9) The two (2) candidates receiving the highest number of votes for nomination for 19
justice or judge of a district or circuit, or numbered division if divisions exist, shall 20
be nominated. Ce rtificates of nomination shall be issued as provided in KRS 21
118A.190. 22
(10) If it appears after expiration of the time for filing petitions for nomination that there 23
are not more than two (2) candidates who have filed the necessary petitions for a 24
place on the ballot in the regular election, no drawing for ballot position shall be 25
held and the Secretary of State shall immediately issue and file in the Secretary's 26
office certificates of nomination, and send copies to the candidates. 27
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Section 3. KRS 118A.100 is amended to read as follows: 1
(1) Candidates for an unexpired term of a judicial office to be filled at a regular 2
election shall be nominated at the primary next preceding the regular election in the 3
manner prescribed in KRS 118A.060 if the vacancy occurs not later than the second 4
Friday in December preceding the primary. If the vacancy occurs on or after that 5
date, the election to fill the unexpired term shall be held in accordance with the 6
procedures described in this se ction and Section 152 of the Constitution of 7
Kentucky. 8
(2) Each candidate shall file a petition for nomination with the Secretary of State not 9
earlier than the first Wednesday after the first Monday in November of the year 10
preceding the year in which the election for the unexpired term will be held and not 11
later than the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June preceding the day fixed 12
by law for holding the regular election for the unexpired term, if the vacancy occurs 13
prior to the first Tuesday followi ng the first Monday in June. If the vacancy occurs 14
after the first Tuesday following the first Monday in June, each candidate shall file 15
a petition for nomination with the Secretary of State not later than the second 16
Tuesday in August preceding the day fix ed by law for holding the regular election 17
for the unexpired term. The petition shall be sworn to by the candidate [ and by not 18
less than two (2) registered voters from the district or circuit from which he or she 19
seeks nomination], before an officer author ized to administer an oath. The petition 20
shall be signed by the candidate, but the candidate's signature [Signatures for 21
nomination papers] shall not be affixed on the document to be filed prior to the first 22
Wednesday after the first Monday in November of t he year preceding the year in 23
which the office will appear on the ballot. The petition shall be filed no later than 4 24
p.m. local time at the place of filing when filed on the last date on which the papers 25
are permitted to be filed. 26
(3) The petition for nom ination shall be in the form prescribed by the State Board of 27
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Elections. The petition shall include a declaration sworn to by the candidate, that he 1
or she possesses all the constitutional and statutory requirements of the office for 2
which the candidate ha s filed. Titles, ranks, or spurious phrases shall not be 3
accepted on the petition and shall not be printed on the ballots as part of the 4
candidate's name; however, nicknames, initials, and contractions of given names 5
may be acceptable as the candidate's name. 6
(4) The Secretary of State shall examine the petition of each candidate to determine 7
whether it is regular on its face. If there is an error, the Secretary of State shall 8
notify the candidate by certified mail within twenty-four (24) hours of filing. 9
(5) The order of names on the ballot for each district or circuit, and numbered division 10
if divisions exist, shall be determined by lot at a public drawing to be held in the 11
office of the Secretary of State at 2 p.m., standard time, on the Thursday followin g 12
the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June preceding the regular election for 13
those petitions for nomination required to be filed no later than the first Tuesday 14
following the first Monday in June. For those petitions for nomination required to 15
be filed no later than the second Tuesday in August, the order of names on the 16
ballot for each district and circuit, and numbered division if divisions exist, shall be 17
determined by lot at a public drawing to be held in the office of the Secretary of 18
State at 2 p.m., standard time, on the Thursday following the second Tuesday in 19
August preceding the regular election. 20
(6) Not later than the date set forth in KRS 118.215 and after the order of names on the 21
ballot has been determined as required in subsection (5) of this section, the 22
Secretary of State shall: 23
(a) Certify to the county clerks of the respective counties entitled to participate in 24
the election of the various candidates, the name and place of residence of each 25
candidate for each office, by district or circuit, and numbered division if 26
divisions exist, as specified in the petitions for nomination filed with the 27
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Secretary of State; and 1
(b) Designate for the county clerks the office of the Court of Justice with which 2
the names of candidates shall be print ed and the order in which they are to 3
appear on the ballot. 4
(7) The ballot position of a candidate shall not be changed after the ballot position has 5
been designated by the county clerk. 6
(8) The county clerks of each county shall cause to be printed on the ballots, including 7
absentee ballots, for the regular election the names of the candidates for offices of 8
the Court of Justice. 9
(9) The names of the candidates shall be placed on the ballots in a separate column or 10
columns or in a separate line or lines and identified by the words "Judicial Ballot," 11
and in a manner so that the casting of a vote for all of the candidates of a political 12
party will not operate to cast a vote for judicial candidat es. The words "Vote for 13
one" or "Vote for one in each division," shall be printed on the appropriate location. 14
The office, numbered division if divisions exist, and the candidates therefor shall be 15
clearly labeled. No party designation or emblem of any kin d, nor any sign 16
indicating any candidate's political belief or party affiliation, shall be used on any 17
ballot. 18
(10) The candidate receiving the highest number of votes cast at the regular election for 19
a district or circuit, or for a numbered division if divisions exist, shall be elected. 20
(11) A judge who elected to retire as a Senior Status Special Judge in accordance with 21
KRS 21.580 shall not become a candidate or a nominee for any elected office 22
during the five (5) year term prescribed in KRS 21.580(1)(a) 1., regardless of the 23
number of days served by the judge acting as a Senior Status Special Judge. 24
Section 4. KRS 118.155 is amended to read as follows: 25
(1) The provisions of KRS 118.125 shall not apply to any eligible pe rson serving in the 26
Armed Forces of the United States while this country is at war. The name of such 27
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person shall be printed on the official ballot of his or her party for an office for 1
which he or she is eligible in any primary election when an applicatio n has been 2
filed on his or her behalf by two (2) reputable electors of the party at whose hands 3
he or she seeks the nomination. 4
(2) The[Such] application shall be accompanied by a statement signed by the proposed 5
candidate authorizing the action of the electors. 6
(3) The application and the candidate's statement [, herein mentioned,] shall be filed in 7
good faith and with the proper officer at the proper time, as provided for other 8
candidates in primary elections. 9
(4) [The form of such application shall be sim ilar to that of the affidavits required of 10
electors in behalf of other candidates as provided in KRS 118.125. 11
(5) ]Before such a successful candidate is given a certificate of nomination, he or she 12
shall file with the county clerk of the county in which he or she resides a statement 13
that during the campaign for the nomination he or she did not, and while a 14
candidate for the office will not, knowingly violate any election law or any law 15
relating to corrupt and fraudulent practice in campaigns or elections in this state, 16
and if elected will qualify for the office. 17
Section 5. This Act shall be retroactive to November 1, 2025. 18