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Kentucky 2026RS

HB 139

AN ACT relating to elections and declaring an emergency.

Source: Open States / PluralUpdated 2026-11-09 08:11:05 UTC.

Official record

Measure details

Jurisdiction
Kentucky
Session
2026RS
Chamber
lower
Classification
bill
Subjects
Attorney, Commonwealth's, Counties, County Clerks, Education, Elementary And Secondary, Effective Dates, Emergency, Elections And Voting, Local Mandate, Secretary Of State, State Agencies
Introduced / first action
2026-01-07 05:00:00

Source-supplied abstracts

Amend KRS 116.112 to allow the State Board of Elections to enter into intergovernmental agreements with other governmental agencies to exchange data to assist in investigating violations of election offenses; amend KRS 117.125 to require voting systems and equipment meet or exceed a standard approved by the Election Assistance Commission; amend KRS 117.145 to require that county clerks provide voting equipment with the necessary supplies for write-in votes on the day before any in-person voting occurs; amend KRS 117.265 to change the date a person running for President or Vice President must file a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate to the same deadline as the certification of candidates; amend KRS 117.355 to require county boards of elections to deliver signature rosters and precinct results to the State Board of Elections within 10 days after any primary or general election; amend KRS 117.379 to require voting systems meet a previously established Election Assistance Commission standard; amend KRS 117.389 to require county clerks to test automatic tabulating equipment after any petitions for local option elections have been filed; amend KRS 118.015 to change the definition of "political party"; amend KRS 118.125 to require that the notification and declaration be in the form prescribed by the Secretary of State; amend KRS 118.129 to allow a contraction as an acceptable form of a candidate's name; amend KRS 118.165 to require that candidates for Commonwealth's Attorney file nomination papers with the Secretary of State; amend KRS 118.315 to require that the form of petition be prescribed by the Secretary of State; amend KRS 118.367 to specify that candidates for a special election or election for an unexpired term shall not be required to file a statement-of-candidacy form; require that the statement-of-candidacy form be prescribed by the Secretary of State; amend KRS 118A.060 to require that the petition for nomination be in the form prescribed by the Secretary of State; amend KRS 119.015 to remove the term "falsely"; amend KRS 119.165, relating to the penalty of a Class B misdemeanor regarding voters who vote at a regular or special election before being a citizen; make technical corrections; amend KRS 132.017 to require that questions as to whether the property tax rate shall be levied shall be submitted to voters in a common school election not less than 50 days nor more than 60 days from the date the signatures are validated; require the school district holding the election to post bond with the Circuit Court to cover the costs of the election within 5 days after the petition is found to be sufficient; amend KRS 160.210 to prohibit changes in the boundary of any division after June 1 in the year in which a school board member is to be elected; amend various statutes to conform; repeal KRS 118.551, relating to the definition of political party; EMERGENCY.

Sponsors

Source-supplied history

Actions

  1. delivered to Secretary of State (Acts Ch. 175)

    became-law
  2. enrolled, signed by President of the Senate

    passage
  3. enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House

    passage
  4. received in House

  5. passed 32-6

    passage
  6. veto overridden

    veto-override-passage
  7. posted for passage for consideration of Governor's veto

  8. to Rules (S)

    referral-committee
  9. received in Senate

  10. passed 80-20

    passage
  11. veto overridden

    veto-override-passage
  12. posted for consideration of Governor's veto

  13. taken from Rules

  14. to Rules (H)

    referral-committee
  15. received in House

  16. Vetoed

    executive-veto
  17. delivered to Governor

  18. enrolled, signed by President of the Senate

    passage
  19. enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House

    passage
  20. passed 76-17

    passage
  21. House concurred in Committee Substitute (1)

  22. posted for passage for concurrence in Senate Committee Substitute (1)

  23. to Rules (H)

    referral-committee
  24. received in House

  25. 3rd reading, passed 31-6 with Committee Substitute (1)

    passage, reading-3
  26. posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Thursday, March 26 2026

  27. reported favorably, 2nd reading, to Rules with Committee Substitute (1)

    committee-passage
  28. returned to State & Local Government (S)

  29. 1st reading

    reading-1
  30. taken from State & Local Government (S)

  31. to State & Local Government (S)

    referral-committee
  32. to Committee on Committees (S)

    referral-committee
  33. received in Senate

  34. 3rd reading, passed 92-1 with Committee Substitute (1) and Floor Amendment (1)

    passage, reading-3
  35. floor amendment (1) filed to Committee Substitute

    amendment-introduction
  36. posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Tuesday, February 10 2026

  37. 2nd reading, to Rules

    reading-2
  38. reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1)

    committee-passage
  39. to Elections, Const. Amendments & Intergovernmental Affairs (H)

    referral-committee
  40. to Committee on Committees (H)

    referral-committee
  41. introduced in House

    introduction

When supplied by the API

Related measures

No resolvable related measure is supplied.