Kentucky’s 2026 Election Calendar has a number of critical dates worth noting, before both the May Primary and November General Election launch the next wave of local, regional and state legislators.
By the end of business hours Friday, January 9, prospects who belong in a primary must have filed their nomination papers to announce their candidacy, and this is the final moment in which party affiliation can be changed.
On Monday, January 26, Secretary of State Michael Adams will certify all candidate names with the state’s county clerks, and the last day to file a petition for a local option question on the May primary ballot is Tuesday, January 27.
Party committees will submit precinct officers March 16 through March 20, and county boards must have all such appointments made by March 20. Printing regular and absentee Primary ballots must be completed by Monday, March 30, 50 days before the primary.
Independent and minor party candidates, except those of federal, mayoral, or other legislative city bodies, have until the end of business Wednesday, April 1, to file, and county clerks will then transmit absentee ballots April 3-4 — which is also when the online mail-in absentee portal opens.
The very last day to register for voting in the Primary Election: April 20. It must be received or postmarked before the end of business that Monday.
Registration books then remain closed from April 21 through May 25, while Tuesday, May 5, is the last day to request mail-in absentee ballots for the Primary. In-person absentee voting, excused or unexcused, will run from May 6-16, and the Primary will be from 6 AM until 6 PM Tuesday, May 13.
