{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-119.195","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 119.195","heading":"Removing or tampering with ballots.","body":"(1) Any person who, during an election, knowingly and willfully removes or attempts\nto remove an official ballot from the election room, or has in his possession outside\nthe election room any official ballot, either genuine or counterfeit, shall be guilty of\na Class D felony.\n(2) Any voter who attempts to leave the election room with an official ballot in his\npossession shall at once be arrested on demand of either of the judges of election\nand shall be guilty of a violation, unless the act was done knowingly i n which event\nhe shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.\n(3) Any person who takes or removes in any manner, feloniously or with the consent or\npermission of the custodian, any official ballot from any place where it may\nlawfully be, or knowingly and will fully has in his possession or custody any such\nofficial ballot, except as an officer or custodian under the law or while within the\npolling place for the purpose of voting, and any custodian or officer who permits\nany official ballot to be removed or carr ied away from the place where it may\nlawfully be by any person other than the officer or custodian whose duty it is to\nreceive it, shall be guilty of a Class C felony.\n(4) Any election officer, or other person entrusted with the custody or control of any\nofficial ballot, either before or after it has been voted, who in any way marks,\nmutilates, or defaces any official ballot or places any distinguishing mark thereon,\nfor the purpose of vitiating the official ballot, shall be guilty of a Class C felony.\n(5) Any person who unlawfully destroys or attempts to destroy any official ballot box\nused, or any official ballot deposited, at any election, or who unlawfully, by force,\nfraud, or other improper means, obtains or attempts to obtain possession of any\nballot box or any official ballot therein deposited, while the voting at any election is\ngoing on or before the official ballots are duly taken out and counted according to\nlaw, shall be guilty of a Class D felony.\n(6) Any election officer who mutilates or tampers  with any of the seals, or destroys or\nremoves any official ballots required to be preserved, shall be guilty of a Class D\nfelony.\n(7) Any county clerk who knowingly and willfully opens any ballot box and removes\nany official ballot therefrom, or removes, destroys, or tampers with a ballot box and\nofficial ballots left in his care and custody, or permits any other person to do so,\nduring the period the boxes are required to remain locked in his office, shall be\nguilty of a Class D felony.\n(8) Any person who removes, mutilates, or destroys, or adds any new official ballots to,\nthe regular official ballots that have been counted and prepared for preservation, or\nthat have already been preserved, so that the result of the election in the precinct or\ncounty is changed, shall be guilty of a Class D felony.\n(9) Any person who tampers with or changes the official ballots, or opens the\nreceptacles in which the official ballots are contained without the order of the court,\nafter the ballots have been sent to the Frank lin County courthouse in connection\nwith the contest of a constitutional amendment, shall be guilty of a Class D felony.","path":["KRS Chapter 119"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=27760","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:50:17Z","sha256":"31d06baa0b1ef6860779e7928bb45d236a6c5733f76c58cd046084ac3d03e395","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-119.190","next":"us-ky/krs-119.200"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}