{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-118.215","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 118.215","heading":"Certification of candidates or slates by Secretary of State -- Order of","body":"listing county offices -- Use of supplemental paper ballots -- Approval of State\nBoard of Elections -- Ballot position unalterable.\n(1) After the order of the names h as been determined as provided in KRS 118.225, the\nSecretary of State shall certify, to the county clerks of the respective counties\nentitled to participate in the nomination or election of the respective candidates, the\nname, the email address or post off ice box address, the office sought, the district\nnumber of the office sought, if applicable, and party of each candidate or slate of\ncandidates for each office, as specified in the nomination papers or certificates and\npetitions of nomination filed with hi m or her, and shall designate the device with\nwhich the candidate groups, slates of candidates, or lists of candidates of each party\nshall be printed, in the order in which they are to appear on the ballot, with\nprecedence to be given to the party that pol led the highest number of votes at the\npreceding election for presidential electors, followed by the political party which\nreceived the second highest number of votes, with the order of any other political\nparties and independents to be determined by lot. Candidates for county offices and\nlocal state offices shall be listed in the following order: Commonwealth's attorney,\ncircuit clerk, property valuation administrator, county judge/executive, county\nattorney, county clerk, sheriff, jailer, county commissio ner, coroner, justice of the\npeace, and constable. The names of candidates for President and Vice President\nshall be certified in lieu of certifying the names of the candidates for presidential\nelectors. The names shall be certified as follows:\n(a) Not lat er than the third Monday after the filing deadline for the primary as\nestablished in KRS 83A.045, 118.165, and 118A.060;\n(b) Not later than the fourth Monday in August, except as provided in paragraph\n(c) of this subsection; and\n(c) Not later than the Mond ay after the Friday following the first Tuesday in\nSeptember preceding a regular election, for those years in which there is an\nelection for President and Vice President of the United States.\n(2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3) of this secti on, all independent\ncandidates or slates of candidates whose nominating petitions are filed with the\ncounty clerk or the Secretary of State shall be listed under the title and device\ndesignated by them as provided in KRS 118.315, or if none is designated, under the\nword \"independent,\" and shall be placed on the ballot in a separate column or\ncolumns or in a separate line or lines according to the office which they seek. The\norder in which independent candidates or slates of candidates shall appear on the\nballot shall be determined by lot by the county clerk. If the same device is selected\nby two (2) groups of petitioners, it shall be given to the first selecting it and the\ncounty clerk shall permit the other group to select a suitable device. This section\nshall not apply to candidates for municipal offices which come under subsection (3)\nof this section.\n(3) The ballots used at any election in which city officers are to be elected as provided\nin subsection (2) of this section shall contain the names of candid ates for the city\noffices grouped according to the offices they seek, and the candidates shall be\nimmediately arranged with and designated by the title of office they seek. The order\nin which the names of the candidates for each office are to be printed on  the ballot\nshall be determined by lot. Each group of candidates for each separate office for\nwhich the candidates are to be elected shall be clearly separated from other groups\non the ballot and spaced to avoid confusion on the part of the voter.\n(4) The Secretary of State shall not knowingly certify to the county clerk of any county\nthe name of any candidate or slate of candidates who has not filed the required\nnomination papers, nor knowingly fail to certify the name of any candidate or slate\nof candidates who has filed the required nomination papers.\n(5) If the county clerk determines that the number of certified candidates or slates of\ncandidates cannot be placed on a ballot which can be accommodated by the voting\nequipment currently in use by the count y, he or she shall so notify the State Board\nof Elections not later than the last Tuesday in February preceding the primary or the\nlast Tuesday in August preceding the regular election. The State Board of Elections\nshall meet within five (5) days of the no tice, review the ballot conditions, and\ndetermine whether supplemental paper ballots are necessary for the election. Upon\napproval of the State Board of Elections, supplemental paper ballots may be used\nfor nonpartisan candidates or slates of candidates fo r an office or offices and public\nquestions submitted for a yes or no vote. All candidates or slates of candidates for\nany particular office shall be placed either on the ballot or on the supplemental\npaper ballot. Supplemental paper ballots may also be us ed to conduct the voting, in\nthe instance of a small precinct as provided in KRS 117.066.\n(6) The ballot position of a candidate or slate of candidates shall not be changed after\nthe ballot position has been designated by the county clerk.","path":["KRS Chapter 118"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=56458","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:50:15Z","sha256":"77cdd09c5adcc37092b10e94d76f84a198e5ac559c78679b9e3b011cfaf353af","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-118.212","next":"us-ky/krs-118.220"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}