Kentucky’s 2026 midterm elections are coming up fast, and election security—particularly thanks to continued election conspiracy theory peddling from President Trump—is top of mind as voters head to the polls.
A recent national poll from Gallup/Kettering Foundation found two in every three voters are concerned that influence and pressure from political leaders will sway election outcomes—their biggest concern heading into the fall election season.
That outranks fears over ballots not being properly handled or kept safe—about 57% of respondents said that was a concern—and simply not feeling educated enough to cast a well-informed vote, which fell right under half of voters.
Kentucky voters, fret not. Some top Kentucky elected officials on both sides of the aisle have already stood up for Kentucky’s elections in front of the Trump administration’s efforts to cast doubt on our elections and get ahold of sensitive voter information.
“Kentucky’s elections are secure, and so is your personal information,” Kentucky’s Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams said on social media after a federal judge blocked Trump’s demands for private info like Social Security numbers in late July.
And Kentucky election officials have a series of safeguards in place to keep your ballots safe when you vote.
Jefferson County Clerk David Yates—a Democrat tasked with overseeing elections in Louisville, Kentucky’s largest city—said in a statement that his team works year-round to ensure elections are “secure, transparent, and conducted with the utmost care and professionalism.”
“Every step of the voting process, from voter registration and ballot printing to voting equipment security, ballot accountability, and post-election storage, is protected by multiple layers of safeguards, bipartisan oversight, detailed reconciliation procedures, and strict chain-of-custody controls,” he continued.
How does Kentucky keep its elections safe?
The Jefferson County Clerk’s office pointed to several rules and protocols in place designed to keep your ballot and Kentucky’s elections safe, secure, and trusted. Chief among them:
- Voters must present photo identification in order to vote.
- Voting equipment is inspected and certified by the state’s Board of Elections.
- Polling locations and ballot tabulation efforts are required to have bipartisan oversight.
- Election workers are required to use documented chain-of-custody procedures when handling ballots.
- At least one voting center or precinct in every county undergoes a “hand-to-eye” recount after the election, meaning election officials recount ballots by hand and make sure the numbers line up with what voting machines tabulated.
- Voting machines will flag “overvotes” and there are procedures in place if and when that happens to correct the error.
- Kentucky’s voting machines are not connected to the internet during voting or tabulating votes.
- Results are “transported physically and securely by sworn election officers.”
“Our commitment is simple,” Yates said, “every eligible vote is protected, every ballot is accounted for, and every election is conducted with transparency and integrity.”
How to vote in Kentucky
Follow Hellbender Newsroom on social media and sign up for our free weekly newsletter to get all the information you need to vote in Kentucky’s 2026 general election.
The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 5 at 4 p.m. local time. Early voting starts for everyone Oct. 29 to Oct. 31, with Election Day happening on Nov. 3.
