{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-117.086","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 117.086","heading":"Return of absentee ballot -- Secure drop-boxes and receptacles -- Locked","body":"ballot box -- Clerk's duty to keep separate lists for votes cast by mail -in\nabsentee ballot, by excused and no -excuse in -person voting, and by federal\nprovisional in-person absentee ballot -- Report on rejected absentee ballots.\n(1) (a) The voter returning his or her absentee ballot to the county clerk by mail,\nhand delivery, or to a secure drop -box or receptacle, shall mark his or her\nballot, seal it in the secrecy envelope, and then seal the outer envelope.\n(b) The voter shall sign the detachable flap and the outer envelope in order to\nvalidate the ballot. A person having power of attorney for the voter and who\nsigns the detachable flap and outer envelope for the vot er shall complete the\nvoter assistance form as required by KRS 117.255. The signatures of two (2)\nwitnesses are required if the voter signs the form with the use of a mark\ninstead of the voter's signature. A resident of Kentucky who is a covered voter\nas defined in KRS 117A.010 who has received an absentee ballot transmitted\nby facsimile machine or by means of the electronic transmission system\nestablished under KRS 117A.030(4) shall transmit the voted ballot to the\ncounty clerk by mail only, conforming wit h ballot security requirements that\nmay be promulgated by the State Board of Elections by administrative\nregulation under KRS Chapter 13A. In order to be counted, all mail -in\nabsentee ballots shall be received by the county clerk no later than the time\nestablished by the election laws generally for the closing of the polls, which\ntime shall not include the extra hour during which those voters may vote who\nwere waiting in line to vote at the scheduled poll closing time.\n(2) (a) The county clerk shall provide  a minimum of one (1) secure ballot drop -box\nto receive voted mail-in absentee ballots for each primary, regular election, or\nspecial election. Public notice of all secure ballot drop -box locations shall be\ngiven in the same manner as provided under KRS 11 7.076(4), and posted to\nthe website of the county clerk.\n(b) The county board of elections may seek the State Board of Elections' approval\nof a ballot receptacle to receive voted mail -in absentee ballots for each\nprimary, regular election, or special elect ion. Public notice of all secure ballot\nreceptacle locations shall be given in the same manner as provided under KRS\n117.076(4), and posted to the website of the county clerk. Before any mail -in\nabsentee ballot shall be allowed to be deposited inside a receptacle, the county\nboard of elections shall inform the State Board of Elections of:\n1. The number of receptacles to be used;\n2. The type of each receptacle to be used; and\n3. The receptacle location.\n(c) Any drop-box or receptacle located outside of the c ounty clerk's office shall\nbe:\n1. Placed in a well-lit and easily accessible location;\n2. Secured to ensure immobility while in use;\n3. Under video surveillance at all times;\n4. Tamper-resistant; and\n5. Conspicuously noted as a mail-in absentee ballot drop-off location.\n(d) The system used to conduct the video surveillance required under paragraph\n(c) of this subsection shall have enough storage capacity to retain sixty (60)\nconsecutive days of continuous  recording data. A request under the Kentucky\nOpen Records Act, KRS 61.870 to 61.884, for this video after an election\nshall be made during the sixty (60) consecutive days following the election,\nand the video may be disposed of after those sixty (60) days , or upon\ncompliance with the Kentucky Open Records Act or the closure of an\ninvestigation or any litigation, including appeals, in a District, Circuit, or\nfederal court, whichever is later.\n(e) A drop -box or receptacle located inside the county clerk's of fice shall be\nunder direct supervision of the staff of the county clerk at all times and be\naccessible to the public.\n(f) Each receptacle or drop -box shall be emptied by the county clerk and at least\none (1) member of the county board of elections or one ( 1) member of the\ncentral ballot counting board if one is appointed, who is not of the same\npolitical affiliation as the county clerk at least once each business day or more\nfrequently, as needed, to reasonably secure and accommodate the volume of\nthe voter-delivered mail-in absentee ballots. The ballots deposited in the drop-\nbox or receptacle shall be removed with a record of the date and time ballots\nwere removed, and the names of the persons removing them. If the drop -box\nor receptacle is located outside the county clerk's office, the ballots shall be\nreturned to the county clerk in locked transport containers, and the county\nclerk shall transfer the ballots upon receipt in accordance with subsection (3)\nof this section.\n(g) Except for those times ballots are being removed and transported from a\nsecure ballot drop box to the county clerk as provided in this subsection, the\ncounty clerk and at least one (1) member of the county board of elections who\nis not of the same political affiliation or one (1) member  of the central ballot\ncounting board who is not of the same political affiliation as the county clerk,\nshall retain the keys to all secure ballot drop -boxes, receptacles, and transport\ncontainers in use in the county.\n(h) The State Board of Elections may establish additional security measures and\nprocedures for the use of the ballot drop -box or receptacle through\nadministrative regulations promulgated under KRS Chapter 13A.\n(3) Upon receipt of a mail-in absentee ballot, the county clerk shall scan the barc ode or\nlabel that is unique to the individual voter to note the receipt of the mail -in absentee\nballot, and deposit all of the mail -in absentee ballots in a locked ballot box\nimmediately upon receipt without opening the outer envelope. The ballot box shall\nbe locked with two (2) locks. The keys to the ballot box shall be retained by at least\ntwo (2) members of the county board of elections who are not of the same political\naffiliation or two (2) members of the central ballot counting board if one (1) is\nappointed, who are not of the same political affiliation, and the box shall remain\nlocked until the ballots are processed, reviewed, or counted under KRS 117.087.\n(4) The county clerk shall keep separate lists for each election of all persons who:\n(a) Return a mail-in absentee ballot accepted under KRS 117.087;\n(b) Vote by means of an excused or no-excuse in-person absentee ballot; and\n(c) Cast a federal provisional absentee ballot counted under 31 KAR 6:020.\nThe county clerk shall send a copy of each list to  the State Board of Elections after\nany primary or election day. Notwithstanding the provisions of the Kentucky Open\nRecords Act, KRS 61.870 to 61.884, each list of all persons who return their mail-in\nabsentee ballots or who cast their ballots by means of  an excused in -person\nabsentee or no -excuse in -person absentee shall not be made public until after the\nclose of business hours on the primary or election day for which the list applies,\nexcept when provided to the county board of elections under KRS 117.0 87. The\ncounty clerk and the Secretary of State shall keep a record of the number of votes\ncast by each method listed in paragraphs (a) to (c) of this subsection, which are cast\nin any primary or election as a part of the official certification of the prim ary or\nelection.\n(5) The county board of elections shall report to the State Board of Elections within ten\n(10) days after any primary or regular election as to the number of rejected absentee\nballots, including rejected mail-in absentee ballots and ballots cast under subsection\n(3) of this section, and the reasons for rejecting the ballots on a form prescribed and\nfurnished by the State Board of Elections in administrative regulations promulgated\nunder KRS Chapter 13A.","path":["KRS Chapter 117"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=56446","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:50:12Z","sha256":"531f70d6a01900b8a3403d8ec7f841bd4abbbbd50ea76fd1303a17db1c1adebc","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-117.0851","next":"us-ky/krs-117.0861"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}