KRS 117.125: Voting system or voting equipment -- Specifications and features required

for approval.

(1) A voting system or voting equipment shall be approved for use by the State Board

of Elections, either upon initial examination or reexaminat ion, and voting

equipment or a voting system shall not be purchased unless the system and

equipment has been certified under KRS 117.379 and is so constructed that it shall:

(a) Ensure secrecy to the voter in the act of voting so that no person can see or

know for whom any other voter has voted or is voting, except for those voters

requiring assistance under KRS 117.255;

(b) Permit votes to be cast for any candidate entitled to have his or her name

printed upon the ballots at any primary, regular election, or special election,

and for or against any public question entitled to be placed upon the ballots;

(c) Except at a primary, permit a voter to vote for all the candidates of one (1)

party or for one (1) or more candidates of every party having candidates

entitled to be voted for, or for one (1) or more independent, political

organization, or political group candidates;

(d) Permit a voter to vote for as many persons for an office as the voter is

lawfully entitled to vote for, and no more;

(e) Prevent a voter from voting for more persons for any office than the voter is

entitled to vote for, and from voting for the same person, or for or against the

same question, more than once;

(f) Permit a voter to vote for or against any question the voter may have the rig ht

to vote on, but no other;

(g) Provide for a nonpartisan ballot;

(h) Be capable of being adjusted for use in a primary so that a voter may not vote

for any person except those seeking nomination as candidates of the voter's

party, as candidates for a non partisan office, or as candidates for an office of

the Court of Justice;

(i) Permit each voter to vote for all the candidates for presidential electors of any

party by one (1) operation;

(j) Permit each voter to vote, in any regular or special election, for any person for

whom the voter desires to vote whose name does not appear upon the ballot

by providing a method of write-in voting;

(k) Be safe, efficient, and accurate in the conduct of ele ctions, and correctly

register and accurately count all votes cast for each person, and for or against

each public question;

(l) 1. Provide each voter an opportunity to verify votes recorded on the

permanent paper ballot, either visually or using assistive voting

technology, by producing a voter-verified paper audit trail;

2. Provide each voter an opportunity to change votes or correct any error

before the voter's ballot is cast and counted; and

3. Provide a voter who spoils his or her ballot another ballot as provided

under this chapter;

(m) Use an individual, discrete, permanent, paper ballot cast by the voter for

tabulating purposes;

(n) Preserve the paper ballot as an official record available for use in any audit or

recount;

(o) Be suitably designed for the purpose used, constructed of a durable material,

and safely transportable;

(p) Be capable of determining whether the voting equipment has been unlocked

and operated or adjusted in any manner after once being locked;

(q) Have a public counter with a re gister which is visible from the outside of the

counter or device that will show at all times during an election how many

persons have voted;

(r) Have a protective cumulative counter indicating the number of votes cast for

each person, and the votes cast f or or against each public question which

cannot be seen, reset, or tampered with without unlocking a covering device

by a key or other security apparatus that cannot unlock any other part of the

equipment, and which prevents changes to the cumulative count er once the

system has been put into operation on the day of any election;

(s) Provide for the tabulating of votes at the precinct as required under KRS

117.275;

(t) Provide locks or other security apparatus by which the operation of the voting

equipment may be locked before the time for opening the polls and after the

time for closing the polls;

(u) Permit a voter to readily learn the method of operating it, to expeditiously cast

a vote for all candidates and on all questions of the voter's choice, and whe n

operated properly, register and record correctly and accurately every vote

cast;

(v) Bear a number or other unique designation that will distinguish it from any

other voting equipment or voting system;

(w) Produce a real -time audit log record for the vot ing system, and produce a

paper record with a manual audit capacity which shall be available as an

official record for any recount conducted related to any primary or election in

which the system is used;

(x) Be accessible for individuals with impairments, including nonvisual

accessibility for the blind or visually impaired, in a manner that provides the

same opportunity for access and participation, including privacy and

independence, as for other voters;

(y) Prohibit voting equipment that tabulates or agg regates votes used in official

results from connecting to any network, including the internet, or

communicating with any device external to the voting system;

(z) Prohibit voting equipment that utilizes nonhuman readable codes, including

but not limited to barcodes, QR codes, or other encrypted markings, to

represent or tabulate a voter's choices;

(aa) Meet or exceed a standard for a voting system approved by the Election

Assistance Commission and approved under KRS 117.379; and

(ab) Meet such other require ments as may be established by the State Board of

Elections in administrative regulations promulgated in accordance with KRS

Chapter 13A to reflect changes in technology to ensure the integrity and

security of voting systems.

(2) Notwithstanding the requirements of subsection (1) of this section, continued use of

a voting system and all voting equipment that was approved for use by the State

Board of Elections as of April 14, 2026, and was utilized by a county before April

14, 2026, shall be allowed until s uch time as a replacement voting system is

acquired by the county.