republic-os/legislation/us/states/ky/2023rs/hb-302.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT relating to elections."
description: "Amend KRS 15.243 to require the Attorney General to select six counties at random and six counties with the highest rate of irregularities for his or her independent inquiry; require the Attorney General to promulgate administrative regulations to establish a uniform procedure for independent inquiries; amend KRS 117.066 to require that petitions for the consolidation of precincts include parking accommodations for the proposed voting location; amend KRS 117.235 to prohibit electioneering during any of the days that in-person absentee voting is conducted or during training for election officers; amend KRS 117.265 to prohibit any candidate who was defeated in a primary from running for the same office during the regular election; amend KRS 117.995 to prescribe criminal penalties for people who have previously been convicted of a felony who then attempt to register to vote; amend KRS 118.105 to remove withdrawal, disqualification, or severe disabling condition as reasons to fill a vacancy in nomination of candidacy; amend KRS 118.125 to conform; EMERGENCY."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ky"
legislature: "Kentucky General Assembly"
session: "2023RS"
identifier: "HB 302"
citation: "Kentucky HB 302 (2023RS)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Administrative Regulations and Proceedings", "Attorney General", "Boards and Commissions", "Corrections Impact", "Counties", "County Clerks", "Crimes and Punishments", "Effective Dates", "Emergency", "Elections and Voting", "Local Mandate", "Secretary of State", "State Agencies"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: []
version_count: 3
action_count: 31
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2023-02-15T05:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2023-03-23T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/d9ac38d9-1e45-47d7-b332-5587c969fbd4"
source_url: "https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/23RS/hb302.html"
source_hash: "fd00e8fda8df242e31001663dddae93d456294a44f1a4611310775e52db38617"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ky"]
---

# Kentucky HB 302 (2023RS) — AN ACT relating to elections.

Amend KRS 15.243 to require the Attorney General to select six counties at random and six counties with the highest rate of irregularities for his or her independent inquiry; require the Attorney General to promulgate administrative regulations to establish a uniform procedure for independent inquiries; amend KRS 117.066 to require that petitions for the consolidation of precincts include parking accommodations for the proposed voting location; amend KRS 117.235 to prohibit electioneering during any of the days that in-person absentee voting is conducted or during training for election officers; amend KRS 117.265 to prohibit any candidate who was defeated in a primary from running for the same office during the regular election; amend KRS 117.995 to prescribe criminal penalties for people who have previously been convicted of a felony who then attempt to register to vote; amend KRS 118.105 to remove withdrawal, disqualification, or severe disabling condition as reasons to fill a vacancy in nomination of candidacy; amend KRS 118.125 to conform; EMERGENCY.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/23RS/hb302/orig_bill.pdf)
2. **Acts Chapter 74** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/acts/23RS/documents/0074.pdf)
3. **Current/Final** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/23RS/hb302/bill.pdf)

## Votes

- PASS HB 302 W/ sfa6 — **pass** (pass) · lower
- Pass — **pass** (pass) · lower
- Final Passage — **pass** (pass) · lower

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2023-02-15T05:00:00+00:00** introduced in House `introduction`
- **2023-02-15T05:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (H) `referral-committee`
- **2023-03-01T05:00:00+00:00** to Elections, Const. Amendments & Intergovernmental Affairs (H) `referral-committee`
- **2023-03-02T05:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title) `committee-passage`
- **2023-03-03T05:00:00+00:00** 2nd reading, to Rules `reading-2`
- **2023-03-03T05:00:00+00:00** posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Tuesday, March 07, 2023
- **2023-03-07T05:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading, passed 78-20 with Committee Substitute (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title) `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-03-08T05:00:00+00:00** received in Senate
- **2023-03-08T05:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (S) `referral-committee`
- **2023-03-10T05:00:00+00:00** to State & Local Government (S) `referral-committee`
- **2023-03-13T04:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1) `committee-passage`
- **2023-03-13T04:00:00+00:00** floor amendments (1), (2) and (3) filed to Committee Substitute
- **2023-03-14T04:00:00+00:00** 2nd reading, to Rules `reading-2`
- **2023-03-14T04:00:00+00:00** floor amendments (4) and (5) filed to Committee Substitute `amendment-introduction`
- **2023-03-15T04:00:00+00:00** floor amendment (6) filed `amendment-introduction`
- **2023-03-15T04:00:00+00:00** posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Wednesday, March 15, 2023
- **2023-03-15T04:00:00+00:00** passed over and retained in the Orders of the Day `passage`
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading `reading-3`
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** Committee Substitute (1) withdrawn
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** Floor Amendments (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5) withdrawn
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** passed 29-7 with Floor Amendment (6) `passage`
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** received in House
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** to Rules (H) `referral-committee`
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** taken from Rules
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** posted for passage for concurrence in Senate Floor Amendment (6)
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** House concurred in Senate Floor Amendment (6)
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** passed 76-19 `passage`
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House `passage`
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by President of the Senate `passage`
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** delivered to Governor
- **2023-03-23T04:00:00+00:00** signed by Governor (Acts Ch. 74) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/d9ac38d9-1e45-47d7-b332-5587c969fbd4`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Kentucky legislature records).