LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, is Election Day, which means Kentuckians are running out of time to early vote in-person or cast their absentee ballot early by mail unless they prefer to vote on Election Day.

Whichever date you choose, if you still want to vote, here are a couple of things to note:

Voting by absentee ballot

  • You still have time to submit it early — Kentucky's State Board of Elections highly encourages voters not to wait until Election Day to return by mail or hand-deliver an absentee ballot. So if your absentee ballot is still sitting on the kitchen counter, you may want to get it in.
  • Deadlines to make sure your absentee ballot is counted — Remember, for your vote to be counted, your absentee ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 3, 2020. Yes, postmarked, not simply just dropped in a mailbox. 

Absentee ballots also must be received by your county clerk by Nov. 6, 2020, by 6:00 p.m. local time. So, if you have a family or friend from Kentucky that is out-of-state traveling, you might want to remind them to mail their absentee ballot ASAP to make sure it gets to their county clerk on time.

  • I never received my absentee ballot. Can I still vote? — Yes. According to Kentucky’s State Board of Elections, per the emergency regulation, voters who have requested but not yet received their absentee ballot are eligible to vote in-person. Simply go to your county’s polling location and explain the situation. There are protocols in place to make sure a person hasn’t already voted by absentee ballot. Please note, though, if you requested an absentee ballot and received it, then you have to vote by absentee ballot. You can’t change your mind. 

In-person voting

  • Voter ID is required — Because of a new law passed this year, you are required to have a valid photo ID to present at a polling location to be eligible to vote.
  • The last chance to vote early in-person is Monday — Polling locations across Kentucky are closed Sunday. So if you still haven’t voted, but you want to vote in-person early, Monday is your last day to do so.
  • Peak voting times to avoid on Election Day — If you end up voting in-person on Nov. 3, then Kentucky’s State Board of Elections encourages voters to avoid peak times if they want to circumvent potential crowds and lines.

Peak in-person voting times to avoid are the morning 8-9 a.m. local time, lunchtime 12-1 p.m. local time, and the early evening 5-6 p.m. local time.

  • Poll hours to vote in-person on Tuesday are the same across Kentucky — During early voting across Kentucky, different counties had different days and times to cast your ballot before Election Day. However, on Election Day, the opening and closing of the polls are the same across the board in the Commonwealth. Every polling location is open 12 hours, from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. local time. 

You can look up your general election polling location here and your absentee ballot box drop-off location here. You can also drop your absentee ballot into any USPS mailbox as postage is pre-paid.

You can follow along with our election coverage at on our Decision 2020 page.