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Kentucky’s voter guide for the 2022 primary elections

Lisa Autry

Primary Election Day is May 17. Democrats and Republicans will vote to nominate candidates for partisan elections that’ll be decided this November.

Primary Election Day is May 17. Democrats and Republicans will vote to nominate candidates for partisan elections that’ll be decided this November.

Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time primary day. Voters can cast ballots early in person on Thursday May 12, Friday May 13 and Saturday May 14. You can check for voting locations on your county clerk’s website, or on the secretary of state’s website, GoVoteKy.com.

Voters who have an excuse, like a medical condition, or temporarily live outside their home county, can request an absentee ballot on the secretary of state’s website. The deadline to apply for a mail-in absentee ballot is May 3.

Voters can find sample ballots on their local county clerk’s websites. Sample ballots for Jefferson County residents can be found here.

What’s on the ballot?

All of Kentucky’s congressional districts are on the ballot this year, with five of six incumbents running for reelection. Louisville Democratic U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth announced he will retire at the end of his current term, meaning there’s an open election in the heavily Democratic district.

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul is running for a third six-year term and has drawn several Republican challengers for the primary election, though none have been running high-profile campaigns and Paul he appears poised to easily secure the nomination.

Former Democratic state Rep. Charles Booker is running for Senate again after narrowly losing his party’s nomination in 2020 to retired Marine pilot Amy McGrath. Three other Democrats will also be on the ballot.

Ryland Barton is the Managing Editor for Collaboratives. He's covered politics and state government for NPR member stations KWBU in Waco and KUT in Austin. He has a bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago and a master's degree in journalism from the University of Texas. He grew up in Lexington.

Email Ryland at rbarton@lpm.org.