The Libertarian Party of Kentucky (LPKY) is the official state affiliate of the Libertarian Party (United States). The purpose of the Party is to promote libertarianism and elect candidates to office. The Kentucky affiliate has existed since 1974, and is the third-largest political party in Kentucky. The Kentucky Secretary of State’s office officially began asking county clerks to track the number of Libertarian voter registrations in 2006. As of July 2019, over 9,400 Kentucky citizens have registered Libertarian.
As a result of Kentucky’s 2016 General Election for President, the Libertarian Party is considered, under Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 118.015, to be a “political organization”, the second tier in a three-tier system. This grants our party ballot access, but denies us a state-funded primary. LPKY will retain its “political organization” status through the next presidential election in 2020.
Prior to 2006, most Libertarian candidates for office received about 2% of the vote in any three-way race. After 2006, some Libertarian candidates have been able to reach 5% of the vote in a three-way race. In 2014, the first Libertarian candidates reached over 10% in partisan three-way races. We have also held multiple partisan county offices throughout the state, included those listed here.