By McKenna Horsley
Kentucky Lantern
For those who plan to make a choice in Kentucky’s upcoming primary election, be sure to register to vote by 4 p.m. Monday, April 17.
The primary election is Tuesday, May 16. The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 7.
Registering can be completed online, via mail, or by returning voter registration cards to your county clerk’s office.
The latest voter registration totals show that more than 3.4 million Kentuckians are registered to vote.
According to the state election calendar, online registrations must be completed by 4 p.m. local time, mailed registrations must be postmarked by April 17 to be counted and applications can be accepted by a county clerk’s office until the close of business on April 17.
This year, ballots will include statewide offices in the executive branch: governor, attorney general, auditor, secretary of state, agriculture commissioner and treasurer. The deadline for voters to switch parties ahead of the primary election was Dec. 31, 2022.
According to the Secretary of State’s Office, the qualifications for voters to register in in Kentucky are:
• Be a U.S. citizen and a Kentucky resident for at least 28 days before the election. Non-U.S. citizens and U.S. nationals do not qualify.
• Be at least 18 years old by the next general election.
• Cannot be a convicted felon. For some with an expungement, executive pardon or executive order, the right to vote may be restored.
• Cannot have been judged mentally incompetent in a court of law or have voting rights removed.
• Cannot claim the right to vote outside Kentucky.
Kentuckians under the age of 17 can register and participate in a primary election if they will be 18 by the General Election.
To complete a new or updated voter registration, request an absentee ballot, or learn more information about voting in Kentucky, visit govote.ky.gov.
