By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today
Today is the deadline to file for political office in Kentucky.
Candidates have until 4 p.m. at either the Secretary of State’s office closes or at county clerk’s offices throughout the state for those seeking local offices.
The 2018 ballot will feature Kentucky’s six seats in the U.S. House of Representatives as well as the 100 seats in the Kentucky House of Representatives and seats in even districts in the Kentucky Senate.
The judicial slate includes the Kentucky Supreme Court’s third district, Kentucky’s district judges and all commonwealth’s attorneys and Circuit Court clerks. Those file papers at the Secretary of State’s office.
On the local level, all county officers will be up for election along with city legislative bodies and mayors of some cities. They file with their local county clerk.
”The 2018 election cycle is what’s known in Kentucky as a county election year, so it will feature thousands of candidates,” said Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, Kentucky’s chief elections official.
“We’ve launched online voter registration and made military voting easier with the use of technology, so it’s natural that we tackle making the filing process simpler for candidates with a new filing portal online.”
It allows potential candidates to fill out much of the required paperwork online. At the end of the process, they may save and print a PDF of the required documents for filing with the appropriate filing official.
Kentucky law does not currently allow candidates to submit filings electronically.
Today’s deadline does not apply to those who file as Independent candidates, according to Grimes. They must file a statement of candidacy by April 2, she said.
Write-in candidates have until Oct. 26 to file a declaration of candidacy.
Write-in votes will only be counted for those who file the declaration.