KRS § 118.215 — KY Code / Title X / Chapter 118 / Section 118.215
118.215 Certification of candidates or slates by Secretary of State -- Order of listing county offices -- Use of supplemental paper ballots -- Approval of State Board of Elections -- Ballot position unalterable
Status: in_force

118.215 Certification of candidates or slates by Secretary of State -- Order of

listing county offices -- Use of supplemental paper ballots -- Approval of State

Board of Elections -- Ballot position unalterable.

(1) After the order of the names has been determined as provided in KRS 118.225, the

Secretary of State shall certify, to the county clerks of the respective counties

entitled to participate in the nomination or election of the respective candidates, the

name, the email address or post office box address, the office sought, the district

number of the office sought, if applicable, and party of each candidate or slate of

candidates for each office, as specified in the nomination papers or certificates and

petitions of nomination filed with him or her, and shall designate the device with

which the candidate groups, slates of candidates, or lists of candidates of each party

shall be printed, in the order in which they are to appear on the ballot, with

precedence to be given to the party that polled the highest number of votes at the

preceding election for presidential electors, followed by the political party which

received the second highest number of votes, with the order of any other political

parties and independents to be determined by lot. Candidates for county offices and

local state offices shall be listed in the following order: Commonwealth's attorney,

circuit clerk, property valuation administrator, county judge/executive, county

attorney, county clerk, sheriff, jailer, county commissioner, coroner, justice of the

peace, and constable. The names of candidates for President and Vice President

shall be certified in lieu of certifying the names of the candidates for presidential

electors. The names shall be certified as follows:

(a) Not later than the third Monday after the filing deadline for the primary as

established in KRS 83A.045, 118.165, and 118A.060;

(b) Not later than the fourth Monday in August, except as provided in paragraph

(c) of this subsection; and

(c) Not later than the Monday after the Friday following the first Tuesday in

September preceding a regular election, for those years in which there is an

election for President and Vice President of the United States.

(2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3) of this section, all independent

candidates or slates of candidates whose nominating petitions are filed with the

county clerk or the Secretary of State shall be listed under the title and device

designated by them as provided in KRS 118.315, or if none is designated, under the

word "independent," and shall be placed on the ballot in a separate column or

columns or in a separate line or lines according to the office which they seek. The

order in which independent candidates or slates of candidates shall appear on the

ballot shall be determined by lot by the county clerk. If the same device is selected

by two (2) groups of petitioners, it shall be given to the first selecting it and the

county clerk shall permit the other group to select a suitable device. This section

shall not apply to candidates for municipal offices which come under subsection (3)

of this section.

(3) The ballots used at any election in which city officers are to be elected as provided

in subsection (2) of this section shall contain the names of candidates for the city

offices grouped according to the offices they seek, and the candidates shall be

immediately arranged with and designated by the title of office they seek. The order

in which the names of the candidates for each office are to be printed on the ballot

shall be determined by lot. Each group of candidates for each separate office for

which the candidates are to be elected shall be clearly separated from other groups

on the ballot and spaced to avoid confusion on the part of the voter.

(4) The Secretary of State shall not knowingly certify to the county clerk of any county

the name of any candidate or slate of candidates who has not filed the required

nomination papers, nor knowingly fail to certify the name of any candidate or slate

of candidates who has filed the required nomination papers.

(5) If the county clerk determines that the number of certified candidates or slates of

candidates cannot be placed on a ballot which can be accommodated by the voting

equipment currently in use by the county, he or she shall so notify the State Board

of Elections not later than the last Tuesday in February preceding the primary or the

last Tuesday in August preceding the regular election. The State Board of Elections

shall meet within five (5) days of the notice, review the ballot conditions, and

determine whether supplemental paper ballots are necessary for the election. Upon

approval of the State Board of Elections, supplemental paper ballots may be used

for nonpartisan candidates or slates of candidates for an office or offices and public

questions submitted for a yes or no vote. All candidates or slates of candidates for

any particular office shall be placed either on the ballot or on the supplemental

paper ballot. Supplemental paper ballots may also be used to conduct the voting, in

the instance of a small precinct as provided in KRS 117.066.

(6) The ballot position of a candidate or slate of candidates shall not be changed after

the ballot position has been designated by the county clerk.