{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-118.305","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 118.305","heading":"Persons entitled to have name on ballot -- Certification of names of","body":"candidates -- Eligibility of candidates defeated in primary -- Notification of\nvacancy in elective office -- Ineligibility of Senior Status Special Judge.\n(1) Except as prov ided in KRS 118.345, and subject to the provisions of subsections\n(2), (3), and (4) of this section, the county clerk of each county shall cause to be\nprinted on all ballots, including the absentee ballots, for the regular election the\nnames of the following persons:\n(a) Candidates of a political party, as defined in KRS 118.015, who have received\ncertificates of nomination at the preceding primary, or certificates of\nnomination under KRS 118.185, and whose certificates of nomination have\nbeen filed with the Secretary of State or the appropriate county clerk;\n(b) Candidates of a political party, as defined in KRS 118.015, who have been\nnominated for an unexpired term in a manner determined by the governing\nauthority of the party, as provided in KRS 118.115, and whose evidences of\nnomination have been filed with the Secretary of State or the appropriate\ncounty clerk within the time prescribed in this chapter;\n(c) Candidates of a political party, as defined in KRS 118.015, who have been\nnominated by the governi ng authority of the party to fill a vacancy in the\ncandidacy of a person nominated at the preceding primary, as provided in\nKRS 118.105, and whose certificates of nomination have been filed with the\nSecretary of State or the appropriate county clerk, by at least the date provided\nby the election law generally for such filing;\n(d) Candidates who have been nominated by a political organization as provided\nin KRS 118.325 and whose certificates or petitions of nomination have been\nfiled with the Secretary of St ate or the appropriate county clerk within the\ntime prescribed in this chapter;\n(e) Independent candidates who have been nominated by petition as provided in\nKRS 118.315, and whose petitions of nomination have been filed with the\nSecretary of State or the appropriate county clerk within the time prescribed in\nthis chapter;\n(f) Successful nominees of all nonpartisan primaries which shall have been\nconducted;\n(g) Candidates who have filed a petition of candidacy as shall be required to fill a\nvacancy which shall appear on the ballot;\n(h) The county clerk shall determine whether the name of any replacement\ncandidate who has been nominated as provided in KRS 118.105(5) may be\nplaced on the ballot and whether any voting equipment may be reprogrammed\nto count the votes cast for that candidate, or whether the ballot must be\nreprinted to accommodate votes cast for any replacement candidate, and shall\ntake the appropriate action to accommodate the replacement of any candidate.\nIf the county clerk determines that the n ame of any replacement candidate\ncannot be accommodated on the existing ballot and if there is insufficient time\nbefore the election to reprint the entire ballot, the county clerk shall request\napproval to use supplemental paper ballots for voting for that  office only in\nthe same manner as permitted for other situations in KRS 118.215(5), and, if\napproved, shall have an adequate number of supplemental paper ballots\nprinted for voting for that office and only votes cast for that office by means\nof the supple mental paper ballots shall be tabulated and recorded by the\nprecinct election officers and county board of elections. All actions by a\ncounty clerk, the State Board of Elections, and the Secretary of State which\nare necessary to provide for voting at a reg ular election for candidates\nnominated pursuant to KRS 118.105(5) shall be carried out with all possible\nspeed. When a candidate has been replaced as provided in KRS 118.105(5)\nafter absentee and federal provisional absentee ballots have been printed and\ndistributed for the regular election, neither the precinct election officers nor\nthe county board of elections shall tabulate or record any absentee or federal\nprovisional absentee votes cast for the candidate who was replaced. If ballots\nare reprinted or supplemental paper ballots are printed, or if voting equipment\nmust be reprogrammed to count the votes cast for a replacement candidate, the\ncosts for the printing and reprogramming shall be paid by the political party\nwho has nominated a replacement candid ate, or proportionately by each\npolitical party if each party nominates a replacement candidate;\n(i) Candidates for President and Vice President of the United States, of those\npolitical parties and organizations who have nominated presidential electors as\nprovided in KRS 118.325, if the certificate of nomination of the electors has\nbeen filed with the Secretary of State within the time prescribed in this\nchapter;\n(j) Candidates for soil and water district supervisors who have been nominated\nby petition as provided in KRS 262.210; and\n(k) Candidates for city office for which no nonpartisan primary has been\nconducted in a city which requires nonpartisan city elections.\n(2) Any candidate for city office who is defeated in a partisan or nonpartisan primary\nshall be ineligible as a candidate for the same office in the regular election.\n(3) Candidates for members of boards of education shall have their names printed on\nballots, including absentee ballots, for the regular election only after filing as\nprovided in KRS 160.220.\n(4) Except a s provided in KRS 118.105 and 118.115, no candidate's name shall be\nprinted upon any ballots, including federal provisional ballots, federal provisional\nabsentee ballots, and absentee ballots for any regular election as the nominee of any\npolitical party, as defined in KRS 118.015, or under the emblem of any political\nparty, as so defined, except those candidates who have been duly and regularly\nnominated as nominees of that party at a primary held as provided in this chapter.\n(5) No county clerk shall know ingly cause to be printed, upon the ballots, federal\nprovisional ballots, federal provisional absentee ballots, or absentee ballots for any\nregular election, the name of any candidate of a political party, as defined in KRS\n118.015, who has not been nominated in the manner provided in the laws governing\nprimaries or the name of any candidate who is not in compliance with the\nrestrictions concerning party registration and candidacy provided in of KRS\n118.315(1).\n(6) The names of candidates for President and Vice President shall be certified in lieu\nof certifying the names of the candidates for presidential electors.\n(7) When a vacancy occurs in an elective office which is required by law to be filled\ntemporarily by appointment, the officer or body designated by law to make the\nappointment, or in the case of an office to be filled by appointment from a list of\nnominations, the officer or body designated by law to make the nominations, shall\nimmediately notify in writing both the county clerk and Secretary of St ate of the\nvacancy.\n(8) A judge who elected to retire as a Senior Status Special Judge in accordance with\nKRS 21.580 shall not become a candidate or a nominee for any elected office\nduring the five (5) year term prescribed in KRS 21.580(1)(a)1., regardless  of the\nnumber of days served by the judge acting as a Senior Status Special Judge.","path":["KRS Chapter 118"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=51691","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:50:15Z","sha256":"105cf59f3d7ffcb07640363dfdbe4ca466be5579322a42b7c139cc0b35957ac3","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-118.300","next":"us-ky/krs-118.310"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}