FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — Secretary of State Michael Adams thinks voter turnout will be around 15% once all the ballots are counted next Tuesday.
"It seems low, and it is," said Adams. "But this year, we have no [U.S.] Senate race on the ballot, no Senate or governor's race to juice the turnout on either side. It's a sleepy race for president, of course."
But Adams points out there are important local and state offices on the ballot. All 100 Kentucky House seats and half of the Kentucky Senate seats are on the ballot this year.
"We have important offices on the ballot - down ballot. We have city council races here in Lexington," said Adams. "We have Metro Council in Louisville. We have the legislature."
Presidential races typically get more interest. However, there is no real suspense about who the nominees for U.S. president will be. Many other states have already voted in their primaries. So, does Kentucky's late primary hurt voter turnout?
"I think it does, but we historically have turnout in the teens in our primaries," said Adams. "We used to have August primaries, and they moved them to May. And the other states just moved them to February."
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"The fact is we're never going to Iowa or New Hampshire," added Adams. "We're never going to be first. It is what it is."
But Adams encourages voters to have a say in local races.
"These are actually maybe more important than voting in a presidential primary."
According to Adams, voter registration continued to grow ahead of the May primary. 8,306 new voters registered April 1 through the April 22 pre-primary registration deadline.
According to the Secretary of State's Office, republican registrants make up 46% of the electorate, with 1,615,451 voters. Republican registration rose by 2,684 voters, a .17 percent increase. Democratic registrants make up 43% of the electorate, with 1,511,242 voters. Democratic registration dropped by 716 voters, a .05 percent decrease. There are 364,312 voters registered Independent or third-party, 10% of the electorate. “Other” registration went up by 1,745 voters, a .48 percent increase.
Adams said Independents are the fastest growing voting group in Kentucky.
"Independents love to register, but do they vote? In the governor's race last year, independents were 10% of registered voters, but only 6% of actual voters," said Adams. "Because the Ds and the Rs have parties pushing their people to the polls and there isn't that for independents."
