(1) Except as provided in subsections (3) and (4) of this section and in KRS § 118.115, every political party shall nominate all of its candidates for elective offices to be voted for at any regular election at a primary held as provided in this chapter, and the governing authority of any political party shall have no power to nominate any candidate for any elective office or to provide any method of nominating candidates for any elective office other than by a primary as provided in this chapter.
(2) Any political organization not constituting a political party as defined in KRS

Terms Used In Kentucky Statutes 118.105

  • Political organization: means a political group not constituting a political party within the meaning of subsection (1) of this section but whose candidate received two percent (2) or more of the vote of the state at the last preceding election for presidential electors. See Kentucky Statutes 118.015
  • political party: is a n affiliation or organization of electors representing a political policy and having a constituted authority for its government and regulation, and whose candidate received at least twenty percent (20) of the total vote cast at the last preceding election at which presidential electors were voted for. See Kentucky Statutes 118.015
  • Regular election: means the election in even-numbered years at which members of Congress are elected and the election in odd-numbered years at which state officers are elected. See Kentucky Statutes 446.010
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes territories, outlying possessions, and the District of Columbia. See Kentucky Statutes 446.010
  • Year: means calendar year. See Kentucky Statutes 446.010

118.015 may make its nominations as provided in KRS § 118.325.
(3) If a vacancy occurs in the nomination of an unopposed candidate or in a nomination made by the primary more than ten (10) days before the certification of candidates for the regular election made under KRS § 118.215, because of death or severe disabling condition which arose after the nomination, the governing authority of the party may provide for filling the vacancy, but only following certification to the governing authority, by the Secretary of State, that a vacancy exists for a reason specified in this subsection. When such a nomination has been made, the certificate of nomination shall be signed by the chair and secretary of the governing authority of the party making it, and shall be filed in the same manner as certificates of nomination at a primary.
(4) If a vacancy occurs in the nomination of an unopposed candidate or in a nomination made by the primary more than ten (10) days before the certification of candidates for the regular election, and if that party’s nominee was the only political party candidate for the office sought, the governing authority of each party may nominate a candidate for the regular election, provided that no person has sought that party’s nomination by filing a notification and declaration.
(5) If a vacancy occurs in the nomination of a candidate under the conditions of subsection (3) or (4) of this section, certificates of nomination for replacement candidates shall be filed in the same manner as provided in subsections (3) and (4) not later than 4 p.m. on the date of certification.
(6) This section does not apply to candidates for members of boards of education, or presidential electors, nor to candidates participating in nonpartisan elections. However, regardless of the number of days served by a judge acting as a Senior Status Special Judge, a judge who elected to retire as a Senior Status Special Judge in accordance with KRS § 21.580 shall not become a candidate for any elected office during the five (5) year term prescribed in KRS § 21.580(1)(a)1.
Effective: June 29, 2023
History: Amended 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 74, sec. 5, effective June 29, 2023. — Amended
2021 Ky. Acts ch. 197, sec. 49, effective June 29, 2021. — Amended 2013 Ky. Acts ch. 66, sec. 1, effective June 25, 2013. — Amended 2007 Ky. Acts ch. 46, sec. 1, effective June 26, 2007. — Amended 2005 Ky. Acts ch. 71, sec. 7, effective June 20,
2005. — Amended 1998 Ky. Acts ch. 2, sec. 2, effective July 15, 1998. — Amended
1994 Ky. Acts ch. 482, sec. 1, effective April 13, 1994. — Amended 1990 Ky. Acts ch. 49, sec. 1, effective March 12, 1990. — Amended 1988 Ky. Acts ch. 17, sec. 8, effective July 15, 1988. — Amended 1982 Ky. Acts ch. 394, sec. 18, effective July
15, 1982. — Amended 1978 Ky. Acts ch. 384, sec. 25, effective June 17, 1978. —
Amended 1976 Ky. Acts ch. 54, sec. 23, effective January 1, 1978. — Created 1974
Ky. Acts ch. 130, sec. 100, effective June 21, 1974.