Voter Registration Deadline - October 7, 2019

How to Register to Vote

Registering to vote is a simple process that ensures your voice is heard in critical local, state, and national elections.

The deadline to register to vote for the 2019 General Election is Monday October 7, 2019.

There are three (3) options when registering to vote: In Person, Via Mail, or Online. Deaf and Hard of Hearing persons with TDD can call (502) 573-7100 for questions.

Option 1: In Person

To register in person, you may visit your county clerk’s office to fill out and turn in your voter registration card. You can find the address to your county clerk’s office by clicking here. You may also download the registration card and take it to your county clerk’s office. It is important that you bring your government issued ID with you.

Option 2: Via Mail

You may either obtain a physical voter registration card from the county clerk’s office or download the card online. Once you have filled out the card, simply mail to your county clerk’s office or to the State Board of Elections:

State Board of Elections
140 Walnut Street
Frankfort, KY 40601

Option 3: Online

Registering to vote is as simple as getting online via computer, tablet, or on your phone and visiting www.govoteky.com. Once there the guide will take you through the five (5) step process to register or update your information.

17-Year-Old Voters

If your student or child is 17, Kentucky law allows for pre-registration at 17 provided that the voter will be 18 on or before election day. The voter is also eligible to vote in the primary.


Instructions for filling out your voter registration card:
  • Answer Yes or No to questions A and B, located on the top of the voter registration card. If you answer no in response to either question, do not complete the voter registration card because you are not eligible to register to vote.
  • Check the appropriate reason box on the left side of the voter registration card that applies to your request: New registration, address change, party change, and name change.
  • Leave the following sections blank:  precinct code, precinct name, town, and other code. These sections are to be completed by your county clerk.
  • Fill out your correct Social Security Number, Date of Birth, Work Phone, Home Phone, Gender, Last Name, First Name, and Middle Name. If this applies to you, remember to indicate the correct suffix (Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.).  Your Social Security Number will not be released to the public.
  • Fill out your home address.
  • Fill out the address where you receive your mail if it is different from the home address where you live.
  • Fill in one of the boxes to select a party registration (Democratic Party, Republican Party, and Other).
  • If you check “Other”, please type in the name of your chosen entity. You may choose, Constitution, Green, Libertarian, Reform, Socialist Workers, independent status, or something else of your choice.
  • If you choose “Other”, you are eligible to vote only for nonpartisan offices in any primary election. You may, however, vote for any candidate of your choice in all general and special elections.  Read the voter declaration, sign, and date. If your signature is marked with an "X", you must have two witnesses sign your voter registration card.
  • Review your completed application to ensure you have marked all appropriate boxes and filled in all information fields including signing and dating the voter declaration. If you fail to complete any part, your application to register to vote will be delayed.

Absentee Voting

If you know you are eligible to vote absentee, you can request your ballot any time before an election. If you have never applied to vote absentee, the deadline to apply is seven (7) days before an election.

To request an absentee ballot, you must first fill out an application. You or your spouse, parents, or children may contact your county clerk to request an absentee ballot application. You may request the application by phone, fax, email, mail, or in person. The application can be returned by mail or hand-delivered. If hand delivered only the person requesting the absentee ballot can return, no spouse, children, or third parties may hand deliver.

Mail ballots are sent out about 50 days before election day. Mail ballots must be returned to your county clerk’s office by 6:00 p.m. on Election Day.

If you have a medical emergency you may request an absentee paper ballot. You must provide the county clerk with the application for a Medical Emergency Absentee Ballot, which must be notarized. You must apply fourteen (14) days or less to an election. The ballot may be mailed to an in county or out of count address.

MAIL-IN VOTING- To be qualified to vote by mail-in absentee ballot, you must be:

  • Advanced in age, disabled, or ill
  • Military personnel, their Dependents, or Overseas Citizens
  • A student who temporarily resides outside the county
  • A voter who temporarily resides outside of Kentucky and who maintains eligibility to vote in Kentucky, such as a "snowbird"
  • Incarcerated, but not yet convicted of a crime
  • Prevented from voting in person at the polls on election day and from casting an in-person absentee ballot in the county clerks office on all days in-person absentee voting is conducted because of his or her employment location

IN-PERSON VOTING- To be qualified to vote by in-person absentee ballot, you must be:

  • Out of the county on election day
  • Advanced in age, disabled, or ill
  • Military, their Dependents, or an Overseas Citizen
  • Military personnel confined to base and learn of your confinement within seven days or less of an election
  • Student or resident who temporarily resides outside of the county
  • Voter or the spouse of a voter who has surgery scheduled that will require hospitalization on Election Day
  • Pregnant woman in third trimester
  • You may also be eligible if you are: Precinct election officer appointed to serve in precinct other than his own, Alternate precinct election officer, County Board of Elections’ members, County Board of Elections’ staff, Deputy county clerk, State Board of Elections’ staff.
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