Audit Law Database – Kentucky

State Summary

Kentucky law requires a post-election audit conducted as part of the official canvass. The audit is a hand-to-eye comparison of paper ballots to tabulator results. The secretary of state (or designee) randomly selects one ballot scanner and one race tabulated by that scanner in each county for manual review, while the county board of elections (or its designee) conducts the hand count. Ky. Rev. Stat. § 117.383(8). As required in statute, the State Board of Elections issued a regulation governing the post-election audit process. 31 Ky. Admin. Regs. 4:230.

Following the passage of House Bill 574 (2021), the state conducted a risk-limiting audit (RLA) pilot of the 2022 general election with the involvement of six counties. Recommendations from the RLA pilot program are available in this report.

Unless otherwise specified, statutory references are to Ky. Rev. Stat. § 117.383.

Voting Systems Used

Most Kentucky counties use hand-marked paper ballots and optical scanners, with ballot marking devices for accessibility. Some counties use ballot marking devices for all voters. For the most up to date information please visit Verified Voting’s Verifier.

For an explanation of the types of voting equipment used, click here.

Audit Comprehensiveness

The audit consists of the random selection of one ballot scanner and one race tabulated by that scanner in each county across the Commonwealth. A hand-count audit of the selected race is then conducted by the respective county board of elections or its designee. Ky. Rev. Stat. § 117.383(8)(a). The statute does not specify whether mail and provisional ballots are included in the audit.

Transparency

The audit takes place during the canvass, and representatives from the news media may be present, as well as representatives designated by political parties or candidates. The statute does not provide for public observation, nor for publication of the audit results. See Ky. Rev. Stat. § 117.275(8). The audit is recorded and may be streamed on the internet. Ky. Rev. Stat. § 117.383(8)(c).

Audit Counting Method

The audit statute specifies that the audit is conducted manually.

Type Of Audit Units

The audit samples one randomly selected ballot scanner from each county in the Commonwealth. Ky. Rev. Stat. § 117.383(8)(a).

Contests & Issues Audited

The statute does not specify which contests are audited. One race is randomly selected for audit by the secretary of state or a designee. Ky. Rev. Stat. § 117.383(8)(a).

Addressing Discrepancies

In the case of a discrepancy between the audit tallies and the original machine count not otherwise explained by voter intent, an election investigation will be opened. The county election board must determine whether the contest outcome could be impacted, and any findings shall be provided to the attorney general and the secretary of state. Ky. Rev. Stat. § 117.383(8)(f).

For recount laws, please visit our Recount Law Database.

Timeline

The audit is conducted as part of the official canvass, but no other specific timing requirements are found in the statute.

Binding On Official Outcomes

The audit is conducted “as part of the official canvass.” Situations where contest results could be impacted by a discrepancy found during the audit must be reported to the attorney general and the secretary of state. Ky. Rev. Stat. § 117.383(8)(f).

Oversight & Conduct

The State Board of Elections oversees the audit while the manual count is conducted by county officials as part of the canvass.

Ballot Protection

Kentucky administrative regulations establish procedures for maintaining security in the election process. See 31 Ky. Admin. Regs. 6:040. For more information on chain of custody of voting equipment and ballots see also Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 117.275.

Additional Targeted Samples

The statute does not provide for targeted samples as part of the audit. However, any precinct or set of precincts may be recanvassed if the county clerk or county board of elections “takes notice of a discrepancy in the tally of votes.” A recanvass is also authorized upon a written request by a candidate, if “the difference between the number of votes received by the requesting candidate and the number of votes received by any other candidate or candidates for the same office is less than one percent (1%) of the total votes which were cast for such office.” The recanvass is described as comprising “the voting equipment, valid federal provisional ballots, valid federal provisional absentee ballots, and absentee ballots”; the statute does not explicitly authorize hand-marked ballots cast in polling places to be manually examined. Ky. Rev. Stat. § 117.305.