Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, December 1, 2023
RELATES TO:
KRS
61.645
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
KRS
61.645(9)(e) requires the
Board of Trustees of Kentucky Retirement Systems to promulgate all
administrative regulations necessary or proper in order to carry out the
provisions of
KRS
16.505 to
16.652,
61.510
to
61.705,
and
78.510
to
78.852
and to conform to federal statutes and regulations.
KRS
61.645(4)(j) authorizes
Kentucky Retirement Systems to promulgate an administrative regulation to
implement the use of electronic ballots in the trustee election process and
requires paper ballots to be mailed upon request of any eligible voter. This
administrative regulation establishes the procedures and requirements for
casting electronic and paper ballots, and the tabulation of the ballots for
trustee elections.
Section 1.
Definitions.
(1) "Ballot" means a voting
instrument, either electronic or paper, that includes the candidate's:
(a) Name;
(b) Recent photograph;
(c) City and county of residence;
(d) Employing agency and position title, or
the employing agency from which the candidate last worked or retired and the
position title of the last position held;
(e) Education including schools and
universities attended and degrees earned;
(f) Whether or not the candidate has been
convicted of a felony;
(g) Any
professional licenses or certifications held by the candidate;
(h) Any organization of which the candidate
is a member that is listed on the candidate's application; and
(i) The Web site address where each
candidate's application filed by the candidate and the candidate's resume is
available for viewing.
(2) "Candidate" means:
(a)
1. A
participating employee;
2. Former
employee whose membership has not been terminated under
KRS
61.535; or
3. A retired member, who meets the
requirements of
KRS
61.645(6); and
(b) Is one (1) of not more than
three (3) nominees from the Board of Trustees for each vacant position,
nominated by petition by the membership of the system for which the vote is
being taken, or who is written-in on a valid ballot.
(3) "Eligible voter" means any person who was
a member or retired member of the retirement system for which the vote is being
taken on or before December 31 of the year preceding the election year and who
has provided Kentucky Retirement Systems ("Systems") with a valid email address
or, if a paper ballot is requested pursuant to
KRS
61.645(4)(j), a valid
physical address.
(4) "Term of
Office" means the period of membership on the Board of Trustees, which begins
on April 1 of the year elected or appointed and ends on March 31 four (4) years
thereafter.
(5) "Valid Ballot"
means a ballot either emailed or mailed by an eligible voter that has properly
designated the voter's choice of eligible candidate or candidates for the
number of vacancies being filled.
Section 2. Paper Ballot Request.
(1) Between November 1 and November 30 of the
year preceding the expiration of the term of office and the trustee election,
an eligible voter may request a paper ballot through Member or Retiree
Self-Service. The Systems shall notify the eligible voter that an electronic
ballot will be provided unless a paper ballot is requested during the requisite
time. The Systems shall request that the eligible voter verify the email
address attached to his or her account.
(2) An eligible voter may also submit a
written request for a paper ballot if received on or before November 30 of the
year preceding the expiration of the term of office and the trustee election.
Once an eligible voter elects to receive a paper ballot, the voter shall
receive paper ballots for all subsequent elections unless the voter requests to
vote electronically. A request to modify the type of ballot shall be received
on or before November 30 of the year preceding the expiration of the term of
office and the trustee election in order to be effective for the upcoming
election.
Section 3.
Ballot Preparation.
(1) The Systems shall
prepare the official ballot no later than three (3) months prior to the
expiration of the term of office. The ballot, whether electronic or paper,
shall contain instructions defining what constitutes a valid ballot. The
Systems shall notify the eligible voter on the ballot that any invalid ballot
shall not be counted.
(2) For both
electronic and paper ballots, the eligible voter shall check a square opposite
of the candidate of his or her choice pursuant to
KRS
61.645(4)(f), or write-in
the name of an eligible member, for each position to be elected.
Section 4. Delivery of Ballots.
(1)
(a)
Electronic ballots shall be emailed to the eligible voter on or before January
20 of the year of the expiration of the term of office and the trustee
election.
(b) The Systems shall use
the email address on file on or before December 31 of the year preceding the
expiration of the term of office and the trustee election. If the eligible
voter does not have an email address on file or the Systems receives
notification that the email address is invalid so that the electronic ballot
cannot be sent, the Systems shall mail a paper ballot to the mailing address on
file with the Systems. If the Systems receives a returned paper ballot with
notification of a new mailing address from the United States Postal Service,
the ballot will be sent to the new address if the notification is received on
or before one (1) week prior to the date the vote shall be cast.
(c) The Systems shall be held harmless for
any incorrect email address submitted by the member or inadvertently entered by
the Systems.
(2)
(a) Paper ballots shall be mailed to the
eligible voter on or before January 20 of the year of the expiration of the
term of office and the trustee election.
(b) The Systems shall use the mailing address
on file with the Systems on or before December 31 of the year preceding the
expiration of the term of office and the trustee election. If the Systems
receives a returned paper ballot with notification of a new mailing address
from the United States Postal Service, the ballot will be sent to the new
address if the notification is received on or before one (1) week prior to the
date the vote shall be cast.
(c)
The Systems shall be held harmless for any incorrect mailing address submitted
by the member or inadvertently entered by the Systems.
Section 5. Casting of Ballots.
(1) If an electronic ballot, the ballot shall
be cast on or before March 1.
(2)
If a paper ballot, the ballot shall be postmarked to the required address on or
before March 1.
(3) Any ballot that
does not meet this standard as established in subsection (1) or (2) of this
Section shall be invalid and not accepted.
(4) Each eligible voter shall only submit one
(1) ballot and any subsequent ballot received will be invalid.
Section 6. Review of Ballots.
(1) The ballots shall be submitted to the
board's contracted auditing firm. Access to the ballots shall be limited to the
contracted auditing firm. The contracted auditor shall review each ballot to
ascertain whether it is a valid ballot.
(2) Ballots returned to the Systems for
faulty addresses, or ballots that are incorrectly returned or mailed to the
street address of the Systems, shall be invalid. All invalid ballots shall
remain unopened and returned to the board's contracted auditor. Once the final
results are announced, the invalid ballots shall be shredded by the board's
contracted auditing firm and a certificate shall be provided to the Systems
confirming the shredding of the invalid ballots.
Section 7. Tabulation of Ballots.
(1) After totaling the votes cast, the
board's contracted auditing firm shall certify the results of the election in
writing to the Chair of the Board of Trustees in care of the Executive
Director. The certified results shall be received at the retirement office on
or before March 15.
(2) Once all
electronic and paper ballots have been counted and the election is final, the
contracted auditing firm shall destroy all ballots, including data generated
and stored from electronic ballots, and provide a certificate confirming the
destruction of the ballots to the Systems.
Section 8. Term of Office. Candidates elected
by a plurality of the votes cast by eligible voters shall begin their term of
office on April 1.
Section 9.
Deadlines. If any due date in this administrative regulation falls on a
Saturday, Sunday, or day that the Systems is closed due to state holiday, the
due date or time period deadline shall extend to the close of business of the
next business day.
46 Ky.R. 2001,
2396; eff. 6-2-2020.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY:
KRS
61.645(4)(j),
(9)(e)