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.