Kentucky SB 77: AN ACT relating to elections.

Bill Text

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AN ACT relating to elections. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 118.015 is amended to read as follows: 3
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires: 4
(1) A "political party" is an affiliation or organization of electors representing a 5
political policy and having a constituted authority for its government and regulation, 6
and whose candidate received at least twenty percent (20%) of the total vote cast at 7
the last preceding election at which presidential electors were voted for; 8
(2) The word "election" used in reference to a state, district, county, or city election, 9
includes the decisions of questions submitted to the qualified voters as well as the 10
choice of officers by them; 11
(3) A "ballot" or "official ballot" means the official presentation of offices and 12
candidates to be voted for, including write-in candidates, and all public questions 13
submitted for determination, and shall include a voting machine ballot, a paper 14
ballot, an absentee ballot, a federal provisional ballot, a federal provisional absentee 15
ballot, or a supplemental paper ballot which has been authorized for the use of the 16
voters in any primary, regular election, or special election by the Secretary of State 17
or the county clerk; 18
(4) "Ballot box" means any box, bag, or other container that can be locked, sealed, or 19
otherwise rendered tamper-resistant, for receiving ballots; 20
(5) "Voting equipment" means any physical component of a voting system and includes 21
voting machines where voting machines are in operation; 22
(6) "Voting machine" or "machine" means a part of a voting system that consists of: 23
(a) A direct recording electronic voting machine that: 24
1. Records votes by means of a ballot display provided with mechanical or 25
electro-operated components that may be actuated by the voter; 26
2. Processes the data by means of a computer program; 27

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3. Records voting data and ballot images in internal and external memory 1
components; and 2
4. Produces a tabulation of the voting data stored in a removable memory 3
component and on a printed copy; or 4
(b) One (1) or more electronic devices that operate independently or as a 5
combination of a ballot marking device and an electronic or automatic vote 6
tabulating device; 7
(7) "Voting system" means: 8
(a) The total combination of physical, mechanical, electromechanical, or 9
electronic equipment, including the software, hardware, firmware, and 10
documentation required to program, control, and support that equipment, that 11
is used to: 12
1. Define ballots; 13
2. Cast and count votes; 14
3. Report or display election results; and 15
4. Maintain and produce any audit trail information; and 16
(b) The practices and associated documentation used to: 17
1. Identify system components and versions of those components; 18
2. Test the system during its development and maintenance; 19
3. Maintain records of system errors and defects; 20
4. Determine specific system changes to be made to a system after the 21
initial qualification of the system; and 22
5. Make available any materials to the voter, such as notices, instructions, 23
forms, or paper ballots; 24
(8) The word "resident" used in reference to a candidate in a state, district, county, or 25
city election shall mean actual resident, without regard to the residence of the 26
spouse of the candidate; 27

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(9) "Political organization" means a political group not constituting a political party 1
within the meaning of subsection (1) of this section but whose candidate received 2
two percent (2%) or more of the vote of the state at the last preceding election for 3
presidential electors;[ and] 4
(10) "Political group" means a political group not constituting a political party or a 5
political organization within the meaning of subsections (1) and (9) of this section; 6
(11) "Batch elimination" means the simultaneous defeat of multiple candidates for 7
whom it is mathematically impossible to be elected; 8
(12) "Continuing ballot" means a ballot that is not an exhausted ballot; 9
(13) "Continuing candidate" means a candidate who has not been defeated; 10
(14) "Exhausted ballot" means a ballot that does not rank any continuing 11
candidate, contains an overvote at the highest continuing ranking, or contains 12
two (2) or more sequential skipped rankings before its highest continuing 13
ranking; 14
(15) "Highest continuing ranking" means the highest ranking on a voter's ballot for 15
a continuing candidate; 16
(16) "Last-place candidate" means the candidate with the fewest votes in a round of 17
the ranked-choice vote tallying; 18
(17) "Mathematically impossible to be elected," with respect to a candidate means 19
either: 20
(a) The candidate cannot be elected be