Get ready – it’s time to vote in Kentucky!
At this point, it is too late to request a paper absentee ballot. But don’t worry! With our expanded election laws, pretty much everyone can cast their vote between now and the close of Election Day.
As noted on the Secretary of State’s web site, there are three ways for Kentucky voters to cast their ballot for the 2024 PRIMARY Election:
- Excused In-person Absentee Voting before Election Day, May 8, 9, 10, and May 13, 14, 15, 2024
- In-person No-Excuse Absentee Voting before Election Day, May 16th - May 18th, 2024
- In-person on Election Day, May 21st, 2024
To find your polling locations for all three options click HERE.
Who is eligible to vote as “excused in-person absentee” (#1 above)?
Voters otherwise eligible to vote on election day are eligible to vote an in-person absentee ballot during the six (6) business days immediately before the last Thursday occurring before election day if they meet one (1) of the following requirements:
- Is a resident of Kentucky who is a covered voter as defined in KRS 117A.010, who will be absent from the county of his or her residence on the day of an election and during the days of no-excuse in-person absentee voting.
- Has surgery, or whose spouse has surgery, scheduled that will require hospitalization on the day of an election and during the days of no-excuse in person absentee voting.
- Temporarily resides outside the state but is still eligible to vote in this state and will be absent from the county of his or her residence on the day of an election and during the days of no-excuse in-person absentee voting.
- Is a resident of Kentucky who is a uniformed-service voter as defined in KRS 117A.101 confined to a military base on election day and during the days of no-excuse in-person absentee voting.
- Is in her last trimester of pregnancy.
- Has not been declared mentally disabled by a court of competent jurisdiction and, due to age, disability, or illness, is not able to appear at the polls on election day and during the days of no-excuse in-person absentee voting.
- Is a student who temporarily resides outside the county of his or her residence and will be absent from the county of his or her residence on the day of an election and during the days of no-excuse in-person absentee voting.
- Any person employed in an occupation that is scheduled to work during all days and all hours, which shall include commute time, the polls are open on election day and during the days of no-excuse in-person absentee voting.
- Any election officer tasked with election administration for the current election cycle.
- Any person prevented from voting in person at the polls on election day and from casting a no-excuse in-person absentee ballot on all days no-excuse in-person absentee voting is conducted because he or she will be absent from the county of his or her residence during all days and all hours no excuse in-person absentee voting is conducted.
Who is eligible to vote during the three days of early voting (#2 above)?
Anyone who is eligible to vote on Election Day.
What do I need to be able to vote?
- You need to be registered to vote.
- You need to be registered as a member of a political party that has a primary in your precinct. (Some areas do not have contested races at the primary level, as they have Repub and one Dem running, so no primary needed.) Note that we have closed party primaries, so if you are registered as Independent or Other, you won’t be able to vote in the Republican or Democratic primaries. You may, though, have non-partisan races on your ballot, such as for judges.
- You need to have a photo ID. It must have your name on it, the name must match your voter registration, and it must have a photo of you. For a list of acceptable documents, go here.
- You need to be at the right place. The early voting locations are listed in the link above. Your Election Day location can be found by visiting the Voter Information Center.
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