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118.129 Spelling and form of candidate's name on ballot.
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The Secretary of State or the county clerk, as appropriate, shall certify the
exact spelling and form of the name of the candidate to be printed on all ballots
in accordance with the requirements listed in this section.
A candidate's nickname which is found to be, in the discretion of the Secretary
of State or the county clerk, as appropriate, a title, rank, degree, job
description, or spurious phrase shall be placed on the ballot only if it is the
candidate's bona fide nickname, generally used by acquaintances of the
candidate in the county of residence to refer to the candidate, and if the
nickname is acknowledged, by affidavit, under oath, by five (5) residents of the
county in which the candidate resides, to be a bona fide nickname. The
candidate shall also acknowledge, by affidavit under oath, that this is his bona
fide nickname and is not being used to gain an advantage on the ballot.
A nickname shall always appear set off in quotation marks and immediately
before the last name. Periods shall follow all abbreviations or initials. Additional
qualifiers following the last name, such as "Jr" or "III" shall not be separated
from the last name by a comma and shall be followed by a period.
The candidate's name shall always appear in the following form: first or given
name or initial; middle name or names or initials, if desired by the candidate;
nickname if desired by the candidate; and last or surname in full. All names
shall be in substantially the following form: John Lincoln "Jack" Doe; or J.
Lincoln "Jack" Doe; or J. L. "Jack" Doe Jr.; or any of the above combinations
without the intervening nickname.
The total number of spaces, inclusive of letters, spaces, and punctuation,
which may be utilized on the ballot for a candidate's name and, if any,
nickname, shall be twenty-five (25). Notwithstanding the listing of the
candidate's name on the filing papers, spaces, periods, quotation marks, and
commas necessary for proper punctuation shall be added by the Secretary of
State or the county clerk, as appropriate. No candidate's name shall exceed
twenty-five (25) spaces. The Secretary of State or the county clerk, as
appropriate, shall determine the correct listing for any candidate whose name
exceeds twenty-five (25) spaces to conform to this requirement.
Effective:November 5, 1992
History: Created 1992 Ky. Acts ch. 186, sec. 2, effective November 5, 1992.
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