Absentee Ballots

Absentee ballots can only be obtained through the county clerk’s office.  You may request an application for an absentee ballot through your county clerk’s office in person, by phone, by mail or by fax. Also, the voter’s spouse, parent or child can request an application for a mail-in absentee ballot.  A list of county clerks and their contact information can be found through this link.

In order to qualify for a mail-in absentee ballot, you must fulfill one of the below criteria:

§        Advanced age, Disability, or Illness

§        Military personnel, their Dependent, and Overseas Citizens (For more information, please review the Military and Overseas Citizen Overview on this web site.)
Click here for details

§        Student who temporarily resides outside the county

§        Other voter who temporarily resides outside of Kentucky, such as a vacationer

§         Incarcerated but not yet convicted

§        Your employment takes you out of the county all hours the polling place is open

The deadline for applying for a mail-in absentee ballot is 7 days before an election.  The completed application must be received by the County Clerk by mail or in person by the 7 day deadline.  The absentee ballot must be received in the county clerk’s office by 6 PM local time on Election Day for the ballot to be counted.

You can apply for a medical emergency absentee ballot if a medical emergency occurs within 14 days before an election.  The spouse of the voter can also apply for a paper absentee ballot.

A voting machine at the County Clerk's office is available 12 (or more) working days before the election for those voters who are qualified to vote by absentee ballot in the County Clerk's office. You must fulfill one of the below criteria in order to be eligible:

• You will be out of the county on election day
• Military personnel, their Dependents, and Overseas Citizens (For more information please review the Military and Overseas Overview found on this web site.)
• Military personnel confined to base who learn of it within seven days or less of an election
• Student or resident who temporarily reside outside of the county
• Voter who has surgery scheduled that will require hospitalization on Election Day, and the voter’s spouse
• You are a pregnant woman in your third trimester
• Election Officials

o       Precinct election officer appointed to serve in precinct other than his own

o       Alternate precinct officer

o       County board of elections members

o       County board of elections staff

o       Deputy county clerk

o       State Board of Elections staff