© 2024 WUKY
background_fid.jpg
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

In-person excused absentee voting is already up 114% in Kentucky, a number that points to 'massive turnout'

People line up to vote at Cumberland Trace Elementary School in Bowling Green, Ky., Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Clubb)
Michael Clubb/AP
/
FR171824 AP
People line up to vote at Cumberland Trace Elementary School in Bowling Green, Ky., Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Clubb)

Secretary of State Michael Adams says over 16,000 Kentuckians took advantage of in-person excused absentee voting last week. That's a 114% increase over the same period in 2022.

Adams says 16,441 Kentuckians cast their ballot last week — over 9,700 of them, Republicans nearly 5,700 Democrats, and over 1,000 others. The state's top election official says more than 130,000 Kentucky voters requested absentee ballots, which he says points toward a massive overall turnout.

"In a presidential general election, the turn out really spikes. We typically have about 15% turnout in a primary, we have about 40% turnout in a non-presidential general election, and in the presidential general election it's 55 to 60%," Adams notes. "And what that means is you have a lot of low propensity voters who take four-and-a-half years off, and then they suddenly pay attention to politics, and then they show up and they don't know what's changed."

Luckily, Adams says little about the process will be different this year, though he urges voters to read up on the two amendments on the ballot — which are, by law, printed in full, sometimes legalistic language.

Early voting starts on Thursday and the secretary is hopeful that turnout there will ease pressure on Election Day.

"The no-excuse early voting days are Thursday, October 31, through Saturday, November 2. I think Saturday is a game changer, for working people to have the flexibility to go vote and not have to worry about dealing with the boss and taking time away. So please go out and utilize that," he says.

Election Day is next Tuesday, November 5.

Josh James fell in love with college radio at Western Kentucky University's student station, New Rock 92 (now Revolution 91.7). After working as a DJ and program director, he knew he wanted to come home to Lexington and try his hand in public radio.
Alan Lytle has more than 25 years of experience as a Kentucky broadcaster. Over that span he has earned multiple awards for anchoring, writing and producing news & features for WUKY. He took home the Kentucky Broadcasters Association's Best Radio Anchor award in 2021.