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Eligibility for Absentee Voting​

​Mail-In Absentee Voting

Voters are eligible to receive an absentee ballot mailed to the residential address in the county in which they are registered if their completed application is received fourteen (14) days before an election and if the voter is:

• Prevented from voting in person at the polls on election day and from casting an excused or no-excuse in-person absentee ballot on all days in-person absentee voting is conducted because he or she will be absent from the county of his or her residence all hours and all days excused or no-excuse in-person absentee voting is conducted;
• A participant in the Secretary of State's crime victim address confidentiality protection program as authorized by KRS 14.312​​; or
• Not able to appear at the polls on election day or the days excused or no-excuse in-person absentee voting is conducted on the account of age, disability, or illness, and who has not been declared mentally disabled by a court of competent jurisdiction.

Voters are eligible to receive an absentee ballot mailed to a mailing address different than their residential address if their completed application is received fourteen (14) days before an election and if the voter is:

• A resident of Kentucky who is a covered voter as defined in KRS 117A.010 (UOCAVA/military-overseas voter);
• A student who temporarily resides outside the county of his or her residence;
• Incarcerated in jail and charged with a crime, but has not been convicted of the crime;
• Changing or has changed his or her place of residence to a different state while the registration books are closed in the new state of residence before an election of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, in which case the voter shall be permitted to cast a mail-in absentee ballot for electors for President and Vice President of the United States only; or
• Temporarily residing outside the state but still eligible to vote in this state.

Voters, or their spouse, experiencing a medical emergency within fourteen (14) days or less of an election, are eligible to receive an absentee ballot mailed to a mailing address different than their residential address if their completed application is received fourteen (14) days before an election

​Excused In-Person Absentee Voting

Voters otherwise eligible to vote on election day are eligible to vote an in-person absentee ballot during the six (6) business days immediately before the last Thursday occurring before election day if they meet one (1) of the following requirements:  ​​

• Voter who is a member of the Armed Forces or a dependent of a member of the Armed Forces and will be out of the county on election day and during the days of no-excuse in-person absentee voting.
• Voter who is a citizen residing overseas and will be out of the county on Election Day and during the days of no-excuse in-person absentee voting.
  
• Voter, or spouse of voter, who has surgery scheduled that will require hospitalization on the day of an election and during the days of no-excuse in-person absentee voting.  
• Student who temporarily resides outside the county in which he is registered.
• Voter who temporarily resides outside the state, but is still eligible to vote in this state and will be absent from the county of his or her residence on Election Day and during the days of no-excuse in-person absentee voting. 
• Kentucky resident who is a uniformed-service voter​ and is confined to a military base on Election Day and during the days of no-excuse in-person absentee voting. 
• Voter who is in her last trimester of pregnancy.
• Voter who has not been declared mentally disabled by a court of competent jurisdiction and, due to age, disability, or illness, is not able to appear at the polls on election day and during the days of no-excuse in-person absentee voting. 
• Voter who is a student who temporarily resides outside the county of his or her residence and will be absent from the county of his or her residence on the day of an election and during the days of no-excuse in-person absentee voting.
• Voter who is employed in an occupation that is scheduled to work during all days and all hours, including commute time, that the polls are open on election day and during the days of no-excuse in-person absentee voting.
• Voter who is election officer tasked with election administration for the current election cycle. ​
  

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