Ky. Rev. Stat. » Chapter 118
Kentucky Revised Statutes

Ky. Rev. Stat. § 118.212 (2026)

When candidate's name not to be certified or printed on ballot -- Effect of

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section KY-LRCapps.legislature.ky.gov JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

death or withdrawal of candidate -- Notice required at polls -- Penalty. (1) If, before the time of certification of candidates who will appear on the ballot provided in KRS 118.215, any candidate whose notification and declaration or certificate or petition of nomination has been filed in the office of the Secretary of State dies or notifies the Secretary of State in writing, signed and properly notarized that he will not accept the nomination or election, the Secretary of State shall not certify his name. (2) If, after the certification of candidates who will appear on the ballot as provided in KRS 118.215, any candidate whose notification and declaration or certificate or petition of nomination has been filed in the office of the county clerk dies or notifies the clerk, in the manner described in subsection (1) of this section, that he will not accept the nomination or election, the clerk shall ensure that notice is provided to the appropriate precincts as provided in subsection (5) of this section. (3) If, after the certification of candidates who will appear on the ballot as provided in KRS 118.215, any candidate whose notification and declaration or certificate or petition of nomination has been filed in the office of the Secretary of State dies or notifies the Secretary of State in the manner described in subsection (1) of this section, that he will not accept the nomination or election, the Secretary of State shall immediately notify the appropriate county clerk, and the clerk shall ensure that notice is provided to the appropriate precincts as provided in subsection (5) of this section. (4) If, after the certification of candidates who will appear on the ballot as provided in KRS 118.215, any candidate whose name appears on the ballot shall officially withdraw or die, neither the precinct election officers nor the county board of elections shall tabulate or record the votes cast for the candidate; and, if there is only one (1) remaining candidate on the ballot for that office in a primary election, following the withdrawal or death of the other candidate or candidates, neither the precinct election officers nor the county board of elections shall tabulate or record the votes for the remaining candidate, and the officer with whom the remaining candidate has filed his or her nomination papers shall immediately issue and file in his or her office a certificate of nomination for that remaining candidate and send a copy to the remaining candidate. (5) If, after the certification of candidates who will appear on the ballot as provided in KRS 118.215, any candidate whose name appears on the ballot shall officially withdraw or die, the county clerk shall provide a notice to the precinct election officers who shall see that the notice is conspicuously displayed at the polling place advising voters of the change, and that votes for the candidate shall not be tabulated or recorded. If the county clerk learns of the death or withdrawal at least five (5) days prior to the election and provides the notice required by this subsection and the precinct officers fail to post the notice at the polling place, the precinct officers shall be guilty of a violation subject to a fine of not less than ten dollars ($10) nor more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250). Effective: June 27, 2025 History: Amended 2025 Ky. Acts ch. 125, sec. 17, effective June 27, 2025. -- Amended 2003 Ky. Acts ch. 101, sec. 1, effective June 24, 2003. -- Amended 1998 Ky. Acts ch. 2, sec. 4, effective July 15, 1998. -- Amended 1990 Ky. Acts ch. 48, sec. 41, effective July 13, 1990. -- Amended 1986 Ky. Acts ch. 470, sec. 24, effective July 15, 1986. -- Amended 1984 Ky. Acts ch. 185, sec. 12, effective July 13, 1984. -- Created 1976 Ky. Acts ch. 247, sec. 8, effective June 19, 1976.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1980–2024 · leading case: Barnard v. Stone, 933 S.W.2d 394 (Ky. 1996).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Barnard v. Stone, 933 S.W.2d 394 (Ky. 1996). “As such, his attempted nomination has been invalidated and his name stricken from the ballot, or if such is determined to be impracticable, the provisions of KRS 118.212(5) shall be observed. For the foregoing reasons, consistent with our order entered herein on October 18,…”
Anderson v. Mills, 491 F. Supp. 1231 (E.D. Ky. 1980). · cites it 2× “Immediately after Congressman Anderson announced his intention to seek the presidency through an independent candidacy, he notified the Secretary of State in writing, signed and properly notarized, pursuant to KRS 118.212. Although it was mailed on April 24,1980, it was not…”
Holsclaw v. Perkins, 268 S.W.3d 376 (Ky. Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 2× “Perkins filed with the Jefferson County Clerk a properly-executed notice of candidate withdrawal under KRS 118.212 requesting the Clerk to withdraw his name as a candidate for that office.”
William Zeitz v. Nirupama Kulkarni (Ky. 2024). · cites it 3× “We then follow our next directive in Kulkarni I: “when a nomination is invalidated and it is impractical to strike the candidate's name from the ballot, the provisions of KRS 118.212 shall be observed.” 2024 WL 3929598 at *10 (citing Barnard v.”
Nirupama Kulkarni v. Dennis Horlander (Ky. 2024). “Furthermore, when a nomination is invalidated and it is impractical to strike the candidate’s name from the ballot, the provisions of KRS 118.212 shall be observed. Barnard, 933 S.”
Klein v. Doll, 777 S.W.2d 602 (Ky. Ct. App. 1989). · cites it 2× “We hold that once a candidate has filed papers seeking nomination for public office, that candidate cannot then file papers seeking nomination or election to an incompatible office unless the candidate has first withdrawn his nomination in accordance with KRS 118.212. The Court…”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 118.212(1) — 1 case
Holsclaw v. Perkins, 268 S.W.3d 376 (Ky. Ct. App. 2008). “Perkins filed with the Jefferson County Clerk a properly-executed notice of candidate withdrawal under KRS 118.212 requesting the Clerk to withdraw his name as a candidate for that office.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 118.212(2) — 1 case
Klein v. Doll, 777 S.W.2d 602 (Ky. Ct. App. 1989). “We hold that once a candidate has filed papers seeking nomination for public office, that candidate cannot then file papers seeking nomination or election to an incompatible office unless the candidate has first withdrawn his nomination in accordance with KRS 118.212. The Court…”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 118.212(4) — 1 case
William Zeitz v. Nirupama Kulkarni (Ky. 2024). “We then follow our next directive in Kulkarni I: “when a nomination is invalidated and it is impractical to strike the candidate's name from the ballot, the provisions of KRS 118.212 shall be observed.” 2024 WL 3929598 at *10 (citing Barnard v.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 118.212(5) — 1 case
Barnard v. Stone, 933 S.W.2d 394 (Ky. 1996). “As such, his attempted nomination has been invalidated and his name stricken from the ballot, or if such is determined to be impracticable, the provisions of KRS 118.212(5) shall be observed. For the foregoing reasons, consistent with our order entered herein on October 18,…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.