{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-117.087","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 117.087","heading":"Challenge of a mail-in absentee ballot -- Processing and review of","body":"absentee ballots -- Counting procedure -- Limitation on publicizing partial\nresults.\n(1) The challenge of a mail-in absentee ballot shall be in writing and in the hands\nof the county clerk before 8 a.m. on the day preceding any primary, regular\nelection, or special election day.\n(2) The  county board of elections may appoint a central ballot counting board of\nnot less than three (3) members, who shall be qualified voters and no more\nthan two-thirds (2/3) of whom  shall be members  of the same political party, to\nprocess, review, and count the ballots at the direction of the county board of\nelections.\n(3) (a) Beginning at 8 a.m. on any primary, regular election, or special election\nday, the county board of elections or central ballot counting board shall\nmeet at the county clerk's office or other place designated by the county\nboard of elections to process and review the mail-in absentee ballots\nreturned. Candidates or their representatives shall be permitted to be\npresent. The county board of elections or central ballot counting board\nmay  meet up to fourteen (14) days prior to the day of a primary or election\nto review and process the mail-in absentee ballots cast in the county. The\ncounty board of elections or central ballot counting board shall meet as\noften as necessary during these fourteen (14) days to process and review\nreturned mail-in absentee ballots, including expediting any signature\ncures.\n(b) The  county board of elections or counting board chair or the chair's\ndesignee shall provide each board member  with a list of all voters who\nhave returned a mail-in absentee ballot by mail. If a list of all voters who\nhave  returned a mail-in absentee ballot by mail is not provided to the\nboard, the name of each voter who cast an absentee ballot by mail shall\nbe  read  aloud. The  county  board  of elections shall authorize\nrepresentatives of the news media to observe the processing and review\nof the ballots to determine their acceptance or rejection.\n(c) Acceptance  or rejection of the mail-in absentee ballots shall be\ndetermined as follows:\n1. The  county board of elections or the central ballot counting board\nshall open the boxes containing absentee ballots returned by mail,\nhand  delivered, or deposited in a drop-box or receptacle, and\nremove the envelopes one (1) at a time. All mail-in absentee ballots\nreturned shall have their barcode or unique label scanned to note\nofficial receipt;\n2. As  each envelope is removed, it shall be examined to ascertain\nwhether the outer envelope and the detachable flap are in proper\norder and have been signed by the voter, except if:\na. The  detachable flap and outer envelope for the voter have\nbeen  signed by a person having power of attorney for the\nvoter, and that person has completed the voter assistance form\nrequired by KRS 117.255; or\nb. The  voter has signed the detachable flap and outer envelope\nwith the use of a mark instead of the voter's signature, the\ncounty board of elections or the central ballot counting board\nshall verify that the mark was made in the presence of two (2)\nwitnesses;\n3. Ballots with unsigned detachable flaps or outer envelopes shall be\nrejected automatically;\n4. Ballots that have not been sent by the county clerk to a qualified\nvoter, but are received by the county board of elections or the\ncentral ballot counting board shall be rejected automatically;\n5. The  members  of the county board of elections, or the members  of\nthe central ballot counting board, shall compare the signatures on\nthe outer envelope and the detachable flap with the signature of the\nvoter that appears on the voter's signature of record, which record\nshall include the signature on the voter's identity document  as\ndefined in KRS  186.010, the voter's mail-in absentee ballot\napplication, or the voter's registration card. If a signature match\ncannot  be made,  the county board of elections, central ballot\ncounting board, or the county clerk shall make a reasonable effort to\ncontact the voter and provide notice to the voter with a timeframe\nand manner in which the voter may cure his or her signature relative\nto the mail-in absentee ballot signature. All signature cures shall be\ncompleted before the closing of the polls on the day of a primary or\nan election;\n6. If the outer envelope and the detachable flap are found to be in\norder, the members  of the county board of elections or the members\nof the central ballot counting board shall verify the voter's name from\nthe list of persons who were sent mail-in absentee ballots, but if a\nlist has not been provided to the board, the name of the voter shall\nbe read aloud;\n7. If the vote of the voter is not rejected on a challenge as provided in\nsubparagraph 8. of this paragraph or as otherwise provided in this\nsubsection, the members  of the county board of elections or the\nmembers  of the central ballot counting board shall remove  the\ndetachable flap and place the secrecy envelope unopened  in a\nballot box which has been provided for the purpose;\n8. When  the name  of a voter who cast a mail-in absentee ballot is\nprocessed and reviewed by the members  of the county board of\nelections or the members  of the central ballot counting board, the\nvote of the voter may be challenged by any board member  or by the\nwritten challenge provided in subsection (1) of this section and the\nchallenge may be determined and the vote accepted or rejected by\nthe board as if the voter was present and voting in person; but if the\nouter envelope and the detachable flap are regular, and each\nsubstantially comply with the provisions of this chapter, they shall be\nconsidered as showing that the voter is prima facie entitled to vote. If\nthe vote of a voter is rejected pursuant to the challenge, the secrecy\nenvelope shall not be opened, but returned to the outer envelope\nupon  which the chair or member  shall write on the envelope the\nword \"rejected\";\n9. If irregularities are discovered in the review and processing of the\nmail-in absentee ballot, the county board of elections or the central\nballot counting board shall immediately report to the county attorney\nor the Office of the Attorney General; and\n10. The  ballot box into which all accepted mail-in absentee ballots are\nplaced shall be locked with at least two (2) locks and the keys to the\nbox  shall be retained by at least two (2) members  of the county\nboard of elections who are not of the same political affiliation or two\n(2) members  of the central ballot counting board, who are not of the\nsame  political affiliation. The box shall remain locked until the ballots\nare counted.\n(d) The State Board of Elections shall promulgate administrative regulations\nunder KRS  Chapter 13A establishing the form of the notice required\nunder this subsection for the curing of signatures.\n(4) (a) Beginning at 8 a.m. local time on any primary, regular election, or special\nelection day, the county board of elections or a central ballot counting\nboard shall meet in the county clerk's office or other place designated by\nthe county board of elections to:\n1. Review and process any mail-in absentee ballots returned using the\nprocedures in subsection (3) of this section; and\n2. Count, or the county board of elections may oversee the count by\nthe central ballot counting board, the accepted mail-in absentee\nballots and total and record the in-person absentee votes cast.\n(b) During the review, processing, and counting of the absentee ballots and\nvotes, candidates or their representatives shall be permitted to be\npresent, and the county board of elections shall authorize representatives\nof the news media to observe.\n(5) After the challenges have been made  and all the blank secrecy envelopes\nhave  been placed in a ballot box, the box shall be thoroughly shaken or\nshuffled to redistribute the absentee ballots in the box to ensure secrecy of the\nvote. The board shall open the ballot box, remove the absentee ballots from\nthe secrecy envelopes, and count the ballots.\n(6) The  board shall unlock and break the tamper-resistant seal to any voting\nequipment used to cast in-person absentee ballots, as provided for in KRS\n117.076, and a total of all in-person absentee ballots shall be made  and\nrecorded on the form provided by the State Board of Elections.\n(7) No  person shall transmit or publicize any tallies or counts of the absentee\nballot results or any partial results as provided in this section to any person\nexcept those persons, election officials, or entities authorized by law to receive\nit, until 6 p.m. prevailing time on the day of a primary or an election.","path":["KRS Chapter 117"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=52130","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:50:12Z","sha256":"c450800950e1f266f0088676d08c900cc9f6c45d121eea12917777ea25719898","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-117.0865","next":"us-ky/krs-117.088"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}