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3.4 Million Kentuckians Registered To Vote In General Election

Jacob Ryan

Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes has released voter registration totals ahead of the general election on Nov. 6.

Despite controlling a historically-low number of elected offices in Kentucky, Democrats still represent the largest chunk of voters registered in the state.

Of the 3.4 million Kentuckians registered this year, 49.6 percent are Democrats, 41.7 percent are Republicans and 8.68 percent are registered with another party or as “other,” according to the secretary of state’s office.

Voter participation during midterm elections is generally low. In 2014, 28.4 percent of registered voters in Kentucky cast a ballot when Sen. Mitch McConnell was running for re-election and the state’s congressional and statehouse seats were up for grabs.

That’s still significantly higher than the voter participation rate during Kentucky’s last gubernatorial election in 2015 — 16.6 percent.

In 2016, when Donald Trump was at the top of the ticket, 45.2 percent of registered Kentuckians voted.

Over the summer, Democrats dipped below the 50-percent mark for the first time in modern history as Republicans have made a massive push in registered voters in recent years.

Though Republicans have always had fewer registered voters in the state than Democrats, GOP politicians have held both of Kentucky’s seats in the U.S. Senate since 2001 and a majority of the state’s Congressional seats since 1995.

In 2016, Republicans won control of the state House of Representatives for the first time in nearly a century. That put the party in charge of both Kentucky legislative chambers and the governor’s mansion for the first time in state history.

This year, voters across the state will weigh in on who to send to the Kentucky General Assembly — all 100 seats in the state House of Representatives and half of the 38-member state Senate are up for re-election.

Eighty-eight of the House races have more than one person running for the seat and 18 Senate seats are contested.

All six of Kentucky’s Congressional seats are up for election as well.

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.
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