{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-118.035","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 118.035","heading":"Hours polls to be open -- Employees to be allowed time off to vote, to apply","body":"for or execute absentee ballot, and to serve or train to be election officer.\n(1) The polls shall be opened on the day of a primary, special election, or regular\nelection at 6 a.m., prevailing time, and shall remain open until each voter who is\nwaiting in line at the polls at 6 p.m., prevailing time, has voted. At 6 p.m.,\nprevailing time, if voters are waiting at the polls to vote, the precinct election sheriff\nshall announce that a voter wishing to vote must immediately get in line. When all\nvoters waiting at the polls at that time are in line, the precinct election sheriff shall\nthen determine which voter is the last in line, and that voter shall be the last voter\npermitted to vote. The precinct election sheriff shall wait in line with the last voter\nwho shall be permitted to vote until that voter has voted and shall inform a voter\nwho subsequently arrives at the polls that no one shall be permitted to vote after the\nlast voter in line at 6 p.m., prevailing time. After the last voter waiting in line at 6\np.m., prevailing time, has voted, the polls shall then be closed.\n(2) As provided in Section 148 of the Constitution of Kentucky, any person entitled to a\nvote at any election in this state shall, if he has made application for leave prior to\nthe day he appears before the county clerk to request an application for or to execute\nan absentee ballot, be entitled to absent himself from any services or employment in\nwhich he is then engaged or employed for a reasonable time, but not less than four\n(4) hours on the day he appears before the clerk to request an application for or to\nexecute an absentee ballot, during normal business hours of the office of the clerk\nor to cast his ballot  on the day of the election between the time of opening and\nclosing the polls. The employer may specify the hours during which an employee\nmay absent himself.\n(3) No person shall be penalized for taking a reasonable time off to vote, unless, under\ncircumstances which did not prohibit him from voting, he fails to vote. Any\nqualified voter who exercises his right to voting leave under this section but fails to\ncast his vote, under circumstances which did not prohibit him from voting, may be\nsubject to disciplinary action.\n(4) Any person selected to serve as an election officer shall be entitled to absent himself\nfrom any services or employment in which he is then engaged or employed for a\nperiod of an entire day to attend training or to serve as an election of ficer. The\nperson shall not, because of so absenting himself, be liable to any penalty. The\nemployer may specify the hours during which the employee may absent himself. No\nperson shall refuse an employee the privilege hereby conferred, or discharge or\nthreaten to discharge an employee or subject an employee to a penalty, because of\nthe exercise of the privilege.","path":["KRS Chapter 118"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=27563","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:50:15Z","sha256":"0b95b4e3b96e99078d8cfe1602956b668e93cfe500844ac55d90e926770c9293","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-118.030","next":"us-ky/krs-118.040"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}