Kentucky voter registration surges ahead of Oct. 10 deadline

Over 8,000 new voters were registered in September

(Story Courtesy of Kentucky Today)

FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) – The deadline to register to vote in the November 7 General Election is next Tuesday, October 10, and Secretary of State Michael Adams announced Friday that voter registration continues to surge, with 8,614 new voters added in September.

In September, 5,105 voters were removed – 3,999 deceased voters, 650 voters who were convicted of felonies, 320 who moved out of state, 80 who voluntarily de-registered, 55 who were adjudged mentally incompetent and one duplicate registration.

Republican registrants account for 46% of the electorate, with 1,600,280 voters. Republican registration grew by 2,846 voters, a .18% increase. Democratic registrants make up 44% of the electorate with 1,526,292 voters.  Democratic registration decreased by 1,068, a .07% drop. There are 353,596 voters registered as Independent or other political parties, amassing 10% of the electorate. “Other” registration increased by 1,731 voters, a .49% increase.

“We’re hopeful that surging voter registration bodes for a solid turnout in the November election,” said Adams. “To vote in that election, be sure to register at govote.ky.gov by October 10 at 4:00 p.m.”

Once you are registered, there are several ways you can “voice your choice” besides showing up at the polls on Election Day.

The first is absentee voting by mail. During the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone was eligible to request a mail-in ballot. However, that returned to the original requirements, both for absentee ballot by mail and in-person excused absentee voting. Go to vrsws.sos.ky.gov/abrweb/. That also has a link to the portal where you can request an absentee ballot by mail. That portal will remain open through October 24.

After that date, you’ll have three other ways to cast your ballot:

--Excused In-person Absentee Voting before Election Day, October 25th-November 1st.

--In-person No Excuse Absentee Voting before Election Day, November 2nd-November 4th.

--In-person on Election Day, November 7th.

Since the pandemic, the number of polling places have been reduced. However, you can now go to any location in your county. The complete list of locations is at elect.ky.gov/Voters/Pages/Polling-Locations.aspx.

The state’s Constitutional officers are all on the November ballot, including Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Auditor, Treasurer and Agriculture Commissioner.

There are also circuit judge races in the 21^st and 44^th Circuits, family court judge in the 30^th Circuit, a district judge in the 26^th District and a special election for the 93^rd District House seat in Fayette County.