Becoming a Candidate

Attention: Please note that the fax number for the elections division has changed to (502) 564-5687.

File to Run for Office

Need to find the appropriate filing forms to run for office? Access them via the Kentucky Secretary of State's new filing application. This new service makes available, 24 hours a day, candidate filing forms for those races that file with the Office of the Secretary of State and sample forms for those that file with local county clerks. Click on the image to access this exciting new service.

Who Has Filed to Run for Office?

Interested in who is running for political office in 2011?  Find out by clicking on the image.  There, you will be able to access a current list of candidates that file with the Secretary of State.

If you would like to be notified when someone files to run for an office that interests you, sign up for our candidate filings notification service by clicking here.

Election administration duties in the Commonwealth of Kentucky are divided among three separate agencies: the Office of the Secretary of State, the State Board of Elections, and the Registry of Election Finance.

Below are descriptions of each office and what services they provide.

The Secretary of State, an elected constitutional officer, serves as the Chief Election Official of the Commonwealth.  The Secretary of State is the filing official for all candidates seeking an office to be voted for by the electors of more than one (1) county, members of Congress, members of the General Assembly and for all candidates seeking an office of the Court of Justice.

The Secretary of State is mandated by Kentucky Statutes to certify the name, party affiliation and ballot position of all candidates filed with him to the appropriate county clerks for ballot printing.  The vote total for each candidate seeking one of the above offices is certified to the Secretary of State as custodian of the official election results.

Services:

Candidate Qualification Information
Candidate Filing Procedures
Election Candidate Filings
Election Calendar
Sample Ballots
Help America Vote Act
National Student/Parent Mock Election

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The State Board of Elections, an independent agency, administers the Commonwealth's election laws, promulgates administrative regulations necessary to properly carry out its duties, supervises the registration and purgation of voters, appoints the political party representatives to the 120 county boards of elections, and certifies the official election results.  The State Board of Elections is comprised of seven members:  Secretary of State (Chairman), three Democratic members, and three Republican members.  The State Board of Elections appoints an Executive Director and an Assistant to the Director, which shall be of opposite political party affiliations, to conduct the day-to-day operations.

www.elect.ky.gov

Services:

Voter Information
   Register to Vote
   Voter Information Center
   County Clerk Contact Information
   Voter Information Guide
   Provisional Voter Information
   Absentee Voter Information
Military & Overseas Citizens
Election Statistics
   Motor Voter Statistics
   Registration Statistics
   Turnout Statistics
Election Results
Election Laws
Election Calendar
Election Schedule
Certified Voting Systems
Voting Systems by County
Board of Elections Members

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The Kentucky Registry of Election Finance is an independent 7-Member Board appointed to serve as the regulatory body for the administration, regulation, and enforcement of Kentucky's campaign finance laws. The agency receives, compiles, and maintains Financial Disclosure Reports of elected officials and candidates for specified offices.

Regulatory functions include educating candidates/committees on the campaign finance laws, tracking candidate/committee election finance activities, ensuring compliance with campaign finance reporting requirements (including the timely filing of campaign finance reports), providing the means for electronic reporting of campaign finance date (including providing filer software free of charge to candidates who file electronically), ensuring compliance with campaign finance laws with desk reviews and with random and mandatory audits, investigating complaints, advising candidates on campaign finance questions, and adjudicating administrative charges of violations of campaign finance laws. The KREF maintains a web-based searchable database which provides users with candidate campaign finance data on search criteria provided by the user.

Kentucky's campaign finance laws apply to ALL candidates for office, including local and statewide candidates, gubernatorial slates, judicial, state legislative, city and county and school board candidates, as well as political issues committees, permanent committees (PACs) and state and local executive committees.

www.kref.ky.gov

Services:

Online Searchable Database
Electronic Filing
Candidate Information
Legal References
Registry Forms and Publications
PAC Information
Important Reporting Dates
Contribution Limit Chart
Announcements
Registry Members

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For more information regarding elections, please contact the Elections Branch of the Office of the Secretary of State:

The Office of the Secretary of State is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm EST.