Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 3, September 1, 2024
RELATES TO:
KRS
116.025,
116.065,
117.075,
117.085(5),
117.125,
117.145,
117.155,
117.165,
117.175,
117.195,
117.205,
117.255,
117.275,
117.285,
117.375,
117.377,
117.379,
117.381,
117.383,
117.385,
117.387,
117.389,
117.391,
117.393,
118.015,
118.215(1),
118.770,
118A.010,
119.005,
424.290
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
KRS
117.015(1)(a) authorizes the
State Board of Elections to promulgate administrative regulations necessary to
administer the election laws of the state.
KRS
117.383 requires the State Board of Elections
to promulgate rules and administrative regulations to achieve and maintain the
maximum degree of correctness, impartiality, and efficiency of the procedures
of voting. KRS
117.383(1) requires the
State Board of Elections to promulgate rules and administrative regulations to
count, tabulate, and record votes.
KRS
117.383(2) requires the
State Board of Elections to promulgate rules and administrative regulations to
establish a method for placing items on any ballot, which shall, as closely as
possible, follow the requirements pertaining to ballots.
KRS
117.383(5) requires the
State Board of Elections to promulgate rules and administrative regulations to
provide for checking the accuracy of the equipment. This administrative
regulation establishes the procedures for the county clerk and the county board
of elections to follow in preparing the ballots and the voting systems prior to
each election.
Section 1. Definitions.
(1) "Accuracy Board" means the county board
of elections, or at least two (2) individuals appointed by the county board of
elections, assigned with the duty of overseeing the accuracy testing of the
voting machines and the voting systems required by
31 KAR 2:020.
(2) "Accuracy test" means the procedures
established by
31 KAR 2:020 for checking the
accuracy of the voting equipment required by
KRS
117.383(6), and the testing
of the automatic tabulating equipment and voting systems required by
KRS
117.389.
(3) "Ballot accountability statement" means a
form created by the county clerk in accordance with Section 4 of this
administrative regulation.
(4)
"Ballot template" means a printout created by the program administrator of the
voting systems that shows the results of the steps taken by the program
administrator to place all candidates, races, and ballot questions on each
ballot based on the information provided by the county clerk.
(5) "Certification" means the information
provided by the county clerk to the program administrator that includes an
accurate listing of all federal, state, county, and local candidates, offices
and ballot questions to be placed on the ballot for each voting machine or
voting system for each precinct within five (5) days of receiving the
certification of candidates by the Secretary of State, pursuant to
KRS
118.215(1), or immediately
after receiving the Secretary of State's certification pursuant to
KRS
118.770.
(6) "Program administrator" means the county
clerk or authorized assistant designated to configure the voting machines and
voting systems.
(7) "Scan voting
system" means a tabulating device that reads paper ballots by electronically
detecting voters' marks.
(8)
"Voting machine" means hardware, which is a component of the voting system,
used or relied upon by a voter in casting and recording his or her votes in a
precinct in an election, which has been approved by the State Board of
Elections for use in elections in the Commonwealth of Kentucky pursuant to
KRS
117.379 and
117.381.
(9) "Voting system" means a system of
components of hardware and software, including the voting machine, used by a
voter to cast a ballot and by the election officials to tabulate the votes on
election day, which has been approved by the State Board of Elections for use
in elections in the Commonwealth of Kentucky pursuant to
KRS
117.379 and
117.381.
(10) "Zero-file" means a computer-based
electronic file type listing all electoral contests and questions, displaying
precinct-by-precinct vote totals registering as zero, which includes all
candidates, offices, and ballot questions in the order under which they have
been certified pursuant to
KRS
118.215(1) or
KRS
118.770, for all mail-in absentee ballots,
excused in-person absentee ballots, no-excuse in-person absentee ballots, and
election day ballots.
Section
2. Preparation of Each Voting Machine and Voting System.
(1) The county clerk shall designate a
program administrator to configure the voting machines and voting systems for
each election.
(2)
(a) Within five (5) days of receiving the
certification of candidates by the Secretary of State, pursuant to
KRS
118.215(1), or immediately
after receiving the Secretary of State's certification pursuant to
KRS
118.770, the county clerk shall provide a
certification to the program administrator that includes an accurate listing of
all federal, state, county, and local candidates, offices, and ballot
questions.
(b) The program
administrator shall place the information in the certification in the ballot
template for each voting system and precinct.
(3) The program administrator, if other than
the county clerk, shall provide a ballot template for each ballot to the county
clerk not less than three (3) days before the deadline for printing ballots
established in KRS
117.085(5) and
117.145(1).
(4) The county clerk shall compare the
prepared ballots and ballot screens, if applicable, for each voting system with
the ballot template and the certification supplied by the county clerk to the
program administrator to ascertain that all federal, state, county, and local
candidates, offices and ballot questions shall be the same as listed on the
certification and shall appear in the correct positions.
(5) Once the county clerk has ascertained
that all federal, state, county, and local candidates, offices and ballot
questions are the same as listed on the certification and appear in the correct
position, the program administrator shall electronically transmit to the State
Board of Elections a zero-file in a format designated by the State Board of
Elections.
(6) The county clerk
shall provide the ballot templates to the county board of elections or
designated Accuracy Board prior to the conduct of the accuracy tests required
by 31 KAR 2:020.
(7) The county board of elections, or
designated review board, shall review the ballot template and the certification
supplied by the county clerk to the program administrator to ascertain that all
federal, state, county, and local candidates, offices and ballot questions
shall be the same as listed on the certification and shall appear in the
correct positions prior to the conduct of the accuracy tests required by
31 KAR 2:020.
(8) The county clerk shall review and verify
the audio ballots to be placed on the accessible voting systems by listening to
the audio ballot through a headset to ensure proper pronunciation of all
candidate names and to confirm that all federal, state, county, and local
candidates, offices and ballot questions shall be the same as listed on the
certification and shall appear in the correct positions.
Section 3. Number of Ballots to be Printed.
In addition to the requirements established in
KRS
117.145, the county clerk shall provide a
sufficient number of printed ballots for each precinct in a county that uses
scan voting systems for each election. The number of ballots required to be
printed and distributed to each precinct with scan voting systems shall be
determined as follows:
(1) For a primary, the
number of ballots shall be at least ten (10) percent more than the total number
of votes cast in each party's primary and nonpartisan race in the most recent
presidential primary election;
(2)
For the general election, the number of ballots shall be at least ten (10)
percent more than the total number of votes cast in the most recent general
election in which votes were cast for the electors for the President of the
United States; and
(3) For a
special election, the number of ballots shall be a sufficient number as
determined by the county clerk considering the number of registered voters in
the precinct and the type of special election to be held.
Section 4. Preparation and Delivery of
Ballots.
(1) The county clerk shall place
into a container the paper ballots, if applicable, for each precinct.
(2) The container shall be secured with a
seal and contain a certificate signed by the county clerk recording the total
number of ballots in the container and that the ballots were counted and sealed
by the county clerk.
(3) Ballots
not issued to a precinct or assigned for absentee voting shall be secured and
accounted for by the county clerk.
(4) The county clerk shall maintain a record
of the number of ballots and serial numbers of the voting systems issued to
each precinct.
(5) If using paper
ballots for a scan voting system, the county clerk shall create a ballot
accountability statement to be provided along with the ballots to each precinct
that includes the following:
(a) In a primary,
an accounting of the total number of ballots for each party primary and
nonpartisan race submitted to the precinct to be completed by the county
clerk;
(b) In a general election,
an accounting of the total number of each type of ballot submitted to the
precinct to be completed by the county clerk;
(c) An oath for the county clerk to sign
attesting to the accuracy of the information provided by the county clerk on
the statement;
(d) An accounting of
the total number of ballots used, unused, and spoiled on election day to be
completed by the precinct election clerk and signed by all four (4) precinct
election officers;
(e) An
accounting of the total number of ballots returned to the county clerk at the
end of the election day to be completed by the precinct election
clerk;
(f) A section that allows
for the precinct election clerk to explain any discrepancies; and
(g) An oath for the precinct election
officers to sign attesting to the accuracy of the information provided on the
statement.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY:
KRS
117.015(1)(a),
117.383
