The candidate filing period for the 2018 election cycle has opened and Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes is encouraging potential candidates to use a new online filing portal on the Secretary of State’s website.
“The 2018 election cycle is what’s known in Kentucky as a county election year, so it will feature thousands of candidates,” said Grimes, Kentucky’s chief elections official. “As Secretary of State, 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.”
The Secretary of State’s online Becoming a Candidate portal allows potential candidates to use a streamlined web application to fill out much of the paperwork required to become a candidate. At the end of the process, users 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.
The portal also allows potential candidates to print blank filing forms or to request forms by mail.
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. On the local level, all county officers will be up for election along with city legislative bodies and mayors of some cities.
The deadline for filing for offices that may have a primary is 4 p.m. local time on January 30. Independent, political group, or political organization candidates for offices that require a statement of candidacy must file by 4 p.m. local time on April 2.
Persons interested in becoming a candidate for any office can find more information on the Secretary of State’s online Becoming a Candidate portal at sos.ky.gov.
From Secretary of State
