Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to amend and pass a bill that authorizes early in-person voting and imposes mail-in voting restrictions.

Highlights:

• Authorizes any person to register as a voter during the period registration is open if he or she possesses, or will possess on the day of the next regular election, the qualifications (Sec. 2-1).

• Authorizes any person to register to vote or change his or her party affiliation in any of the following ways (Sec. 2-4):

• In person;

• By mail;

• By means of the federal post card application, if the person is a resident of Kentucky and a member of the Armed Forces, or a dependent of members of the Armed Forces, or overseas citizen;

• By mail-in application form prescribed by the Election Assistance Commission; or

• By other methods of registration, or reregistration, approved by the State Board of Elections, including the use of voluntary interested groups and political parties, under the proper supervision and directions of the county clerk, which may include door to door canvassing.

• Establishes a qualified voter can apply to cast his or her vote by mail-in absentee ballot if the completed application is received 14 days before the election, and if the voter is (Sec. 14.h):

• A resident of Kentucky who is a covered voter as defined;

• 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;

• Temporarily residing outside the state but still eligible to vote in this state;

• Prevented from voting in person at the polls on election day and from casting an in-person absentee ballot;

• Changing or has changed his or her place of residence to a different state;

• A participant in the Secretary of State's crime victim address confidentiality protection program; or

• Not able to appear at the polls on election day or the days 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.

• Specifies in-person absentee voting shall be conducted in the county clerk's office or other place designated by the county board of elections and approved by the State Board of Elections during normal business hours on the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday immediately preceding the day of a primary or an election (Sec. 11-2).

• Authorizes any voter qualified for a mail-in absentee ballot who does not receive a requested mail-in absentee ballot within a reasonable amount of time shall contact the county clerk, who shall reissue a second mail-in absentee ballot (Sec. 11-8).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that authorizes early in-person voting and imposes mail-in voting restrictions.

Highlights:

• Authorizes any person to register as a voter during the period registration is open if he or she possesses, or will possess on the day of the next regular election, the qualifications (Sec. 2-1).

• Authorizes any person to register to vote or change his or her party affiliation in any of the following ways (Sec. 2-4):

• In person;

• By mail;

• By means of the federal post card application, if the person is a resident of Kentucky and a member of the Armed Forces, or a dependent of members of the Armed Forces, or overseas citizen;

• By mail-in application form prescribed by the Election Assistance Commission; or

• By other methods of registration, or reregistration, approved by the State Board of Elections, including the use of voluntary interested groups and political parties, under the proper supervision and directions of the county clerk, which may include door to door canvassing.

• Establishes a qualified voter can apply to cast his or her vote by mail-in absentee ballot if the completed application is received 14 days before the election, and if the voter is (Sec. 14.h):

• A resident of Kentucky who is a covered voter as defined;

• 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;

• Temporarily residing outside the state but still eligible to vote in this state;

• Prevented from voting in person at the polls on election day and from casting an in-person absentee ballot;

• Changing or has changed his or her place of residence to a different state;

• A participant in the Secretary of State's crime victim address confidentiality protection program; or

• Not able to appear at the polls on election day or the days 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.

• Specifies in-person absentee voting shall be conducted in the county clerk's office or other place designated by the county board of elections and approved by the State Board of Elections during normal business hours on the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday immediately preceding the day of a primary or an election (Sec. 11-2).

• Authorizes any voter qualified for a mail-in absentee ballot who does not receive a requested mail-in absentee ballot within a reasonable amount of time shall contact the county clerk, who shall reissue a second mail-in absentee ballot (Sec. 11-8).

Full Bill Text