117.235 Persons permitted in voting room -- Electioneering and prohibited
792 words·~4 min read·
/ky/117-235A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
activities -- Maintenance of order -- Mock elections for school children --
Display of political campaign signs on private property.
(1)No person, other than the election officers, challengers, person assisting voters in
accordance with KRS 117.255(3), and a minor child in the company of a voter,
shall be permitted within the voting room while the vote is being polled, except as
follows:
(a)For the purpose of voting;
(b)By authority of the election officers to keep order and enforce the law;
(c)With the express approval of the county board of elections to repair or replace
voting equipment that is malfunctioning, and to provide additional voting
equipment; or
(d)At the voter's discretion, a minor child in the company of a voter may
accompany the voter into a voting booth or other private area provided for
casting a vote.
(2)No officer of election shall do any electioneering at any polling place during:
(a)The times the polls are open on election day; or
(b)Any of the days that in-person absentee voting is conducted.
(a)No person shall electioneer at any polling place that is being used as a voting
location on the day of any election, as established in KRS 118.025, or on any
of the days that in-person absentee voting is conducted at that location, or
within a distance of one hundred
(100)feet of any entrance to a building in
which voting is conducted if that entrance is unlocked and is used by voters
on any primary or election day or on any of the days that in-person absentee
voting is conducted.
(b)No person shall electioneer within the interior of a building or affix any
electioneering materials to the exterior or interior of a building where the
county clerk's office is located, or any building designated by the county
board of elections and approved by the State Board of Elections for in-person
absentee voting, during the hours in-person absentee voting is being
conducted in the building.
(c)No person shall electioneer within one hundred
(100)feet of a mail-in
absentee drop-box or drop-receptacle.
(d)No person shall electioneer in any building where training for election officers
is being conducted during the time of the training.
(e)Electioneering shall include the displaying of signs, the distribution of
campaign literature, cards, or handbills, the soliciting of signatures to any
petition, or the solicitation of votes for or against any bona fide candidate or
ballot question in a manner which expressly advocates the election or defeat
of the candidate or expressly advocates the passage or defeat of the ballot
question, but shall not include exit polling, bumper stickers affixed to a
person's vehicle while parked within or passing through a distance of one
hundred
(100)feet of any entrance to a building in which voting is conducted,
private property as provided in subsection
(7)of this section, or other
exceptions established by the State Board of Elections through the
promulgation of administrative regulations under KRS Chapter 13A.
(4)No voter shall be permitted to converse with others while in any room in which
voting, including in-person absentee voting, is conducted concerning their support
or nonsupport of any candidate, party, or issue to be voted on, except as provided in
KRS 117.255.
(5)Any precinct election officer, county clerk, deputy county clerk, or any law
enforcement official may enforce the election laws and maintain law and order at
the polls and within one hundred
(100)feet of any entrance to the building in which
voting is conducted if that entrance is unlocked and is used by voters. Assistance
may be requested of any law enforcement officer.
(6)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection
(1)of this section, the State Board of
Elections may establish a program designed to instill in school children a respect
for the democratic principles of voting by conducting in any county a mock election
for school children in conjunction with any primary, regular, or special election.
The State Board of Elections shall promulgate administrative regulations under
KRS Chapter 13A regarding the mock elections to ensure that the regular voting
process will not be impaired.
(7)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection
(3)of this section, nothing in this
section shall prohibit the displaying of political campaign signs on private property
or private establishments by a person having a leased or ownership interest in that
private property or private establishment within the campaign-free zone, regardless
of the distance from the polling place. In the case of a polling location being on
private property that is leased or otherwise under contract for the purpose of serving
as a polling location, the provisions of subsection
(3)of this section shall be
applicable to that leased or contracted-for private property.