KRS § 117.235 — KY Code / Title X / Chapter 117 / Section 117.235
117.235 Persons permitted in voting room -- Electioneering and prohibited activities -- Maintenance of order -- Mock elections for school children -- Display of political campaign signs on private property
Status: in_force

117.235 Persons permitted in voting room -- Electioneering and prohibited

activities -- Maintenance of order -- Mock elections for school children --

Display of political campaign signs on private property.

(1) No person, other than the election officers, challengers, person assisting voters in

accordance with KRS 117.255(3), and a minor child in the company of a voter,

shall be permitted within the voting room while the vote is being polled, except as

follows:

(a) For the purpose of voting;

(b) By authority of the election officers to keep order and enforce the law;

(c) With the express approval of the county board of elections to repair or replace

voting equipment that is malfunctioning, and to provide additional voting

equipment; or

(d) At the voter's discretion, a minor child in the company of a voter may

accompany the voter into a voting booth or other private area provided for

casting a vote.

(2) No officer of election shall do any electioneering at any polling place during:

(a) The times the polls are open on election day; or

(b) Any of the days that in-person absentee voting is conducted.

(3) (a) No person shall electioneer at any polling place that is being used as a voting

location on the day of any election, as established in KRS 118.025, or on any

of the days that in-person absentee voting is conducted at that location, or

within a distance of one hundred (100) feet of any entrance to a building in

which voting is conducted if that entrance is unlocked and is used by voters

on any primary or election day or on any of the days that in-person absentee

voting is conducted.

(b) No person shall electioneer within the interior of a building or affix any

electioneering materials to the exterior or interior of a building where the

county clerk's office is located, or any building designated by the county

board of elections and approved by the State Board of Elections for in-person

absentee voting, during the hours in-person absentee voting is being

conducted in the building.

(c) No person shall electioneer within one hundred (100) feet of a mail-in

absentee drop-box or drop-receptacle.

(d) No person shall electioneer in any building where training for election officers

is being conducted during the time of the training.

(e) Electioneering shall include the displaying of signs, the distribution of

campaign literature, cards, or handbills, the soliciting of signatures to any

petition, or the solicitation of votes for or against any bona fide candidate or

ballot question in a manner which expressly advocates the election or defeat

of the candidate or expressly advocates the passage or defeat of the ballot

question, but shall not include exit polling, bumper stickers affixed to a

person's vehicle while parked within or passing through a distance of one

hundred (100) feet of any entrance to a building in which voting is conducted,

private property as provided in subsection (7) of this section, or other

exceptions established by the State Board of Elections through the

promulgation of administrative regulations under KRS Chapter 13A.

(4) No voter shall be permitted to converse with others while in any room in which

voting, including in-person absentee voting, is conducted concerning their support

or nonsupport of any candidate, party, or issue to be voted on, except as provided in

KRS 117.255.

(5) Any precinct election officer, county clerk, deputy county clerk, or any law

enforcement official may enforce the election laws and maintain law and order at

the polls and within one hundred (100) feet of any entrance to the building in which

voting is conducted if that entrance is unlocked and is used by voters. Assistance

may be requested of any law enforcement officer.

(6) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, the State Board of

Elections may establish a program designed to instill in school children a respect

for the democratic principles of voting by conducting in any county a mock election

for school children in conjunction with any primary, regular, or special election.

The State Board of Elections shall promulgate administrative regulations under

KRS Chapter 13A regarding the mock elections to ensure that the regular voting

process will not be impaired.

(7) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (3) of this section, nothing in this

section shall prohibit the displaying of political campaign signs on private property

or private establishments by a person having a leased or ownership interest in that

private property or private establishment within the campaign-free zone, regardless

of the distance from the polling place. In the case of a polling location being on

private property that is leased or otherwise under contract for the purpose of serving

as a polling location, the provisions of subsection (3) of this section shall be

applicable to that leased or contracted-for private property.