No voting system or voting equipment shall be approved for use after January 1, 2024, by the State Board of Elections, either upon initial examination or reexamination, and no voting equipment or voting system shall be purchased after July 14, 2022, unless the system and equipment has been certified under KRS § 117.379 and is so constructed that it shall:
(1) Ensure secrecy to the voter in the act of voting so that no person can see or know for whom any other voter has voted or is voting, except for those voters requiring assistance under KRS § 117.255;
(2) Permit votes to be cast for any candidate entitled to have his or her name printed upon the ballots at any primary, regular election, or special election, and for or against any public question entitled to be placed upon the ballots;
(3) Except at a primary or at a special election held under KRS § 67C.103(12), permit a voter to vote for all the candidates of one (1) party or for one (1) or more candidates of every party having candidates entitled to be voted for, or for one (1) or more independent, political organization, or political group candidates;
(4) Permit a voter to vote for as many persons for an office as the voter is lawfully entitled to vote for, and no more;
(5) Prevent a voter from voting for more persons for any office than the voter is entitled to vote for, and from voting for the same person, or for or against the same question, more than once;
(6) Permit a voter to vote for or against any question the voter may have the right to vote on, but no other;
(7) Provide for a nonpartisan ballot;
(8) Be capable of being adjusted for use in a primary so that a voter may not vote for any person except those seeking nomination as candidates of the voter’s party, as candidates for a nonpartisan office, or as candidates for an office of the Court of Justice;
(9) Permit each voter to vote for all the candidates for presidential electors of any party by one (1) operation;
(10) Permit each voter to vote, in any regular or special election, for any person for whom the voter desires to vote whose name does not appear upon the ballot by providing a method of write-in voting;
(11) Be safe, efficient, and accurate in the conduct of elections, and correctly register and accurately count all votes cast for each person, and for or against each public question;
(12) (a) Provide each voter an opportunity to verify votes recorded on the permanent paper ballot, either visually or using assistive voting technology, by producing a voter-verified paper audit trail;
(b) Provide each voter an opportunity to change votes or correct any error before the voter’s ballot is cast and counted; and
(c) Provide a voter who spoils his or her ballot another ballot as provided under this chapter;
(13) Use an individual, discrete, permanent, paper ballot cast by the voter for tabulating purposes;
(14) Preserve the paper ballot as an official record available for use in any audit or recount;
(15) Be suitably designed for the purpose used, constructed of a durable material, and safely transportable;
(16) Be capable of determining whether the voting equipment has been unlocked and operated or adjusted in any manner after once being locked;
(17) Have a public counter with a register which is visible from the outside of the counter or device that will show at all times during an election how many persons have voted;
(18) Have a protective cumulative counter indicating the number of votes cast for each person, and the votes cast for or against each public question which cannot be seen, reset, or tampered with without unlocking a covering device by a key or other security apparatus that cannot unlock any other part of the equipment, and which prevents changes to the cumulative counter once the system has been put into operation on the day of any election;
(19) Provide for the tabulating of votes at the precinct as required under KRS § 117.275; (20) Provide locks or other security apparatus by which the operation of the voting
equipment may be locked before the time for opening the polls and after the time
for closing the polls;
(21) Permit a voter to readily learn the method of operating it, to expeditiously cast a vote for all candidates and on all questions of the voter’s choice, and when operated properly, register and record correctly and accurately every vote cast;
(22) Bear a number or other unique designation that will distinguish it from any other voting equipment or voting system;
(23) Produce a real-time audit log record for the voting system, and produce a paper record with a manual audit capacity which shall be available as an official record for any recount conducted related to any primary or election in which the system is used;
(24) Be accessible for individuals with impairments, including nonvisual accessibility for the blind or visually impaired, in a manner that provides the same opportunity for access and participation, including privacy and independence, as for other voters;
(25) Prohibit voting equipment that tabulates or aggregates votes used in official results from connecting to any network, including the Internet, or communicating with any device external to the voting system;
(26) Meet or exceed the standards for a voting system established by the Election Assistance Commission, as amended from time to time, and those approved under KRS § 117.379; and
(27) Meet such other requirements as may be established by the State Board of Elections in administrative regulations promulgated under KRS Chapter 13A to reflect changes in technology to ensure the integrity and security of voting systems.
Effective: June 29, 2023
History: Amended 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 97, sec. 3, effective June 29, 2023. — Amended
2022 Ky. Acts ch. 87, sec. 12, effective April 7, 2022; and ch. 219, sec. 2, effective
July 14, 2022. — Amended 2021 Ky. Acts ch. 197, sec. 18, effective June 29, 2021. –
– Amended 1976 Ky. Acts ch. 54, sec. 21, effective March 10, 1976. — Created 1974
Ky. Acts ch. 130, sec. 26, effective June 21, 1974.