Kentuckians only have a little time left to register to vote in next month’s primary election.
Anyone who wants a say in who becomes the Republican and Democratic parties’ nominees for governor and other statewide offices must sign up by 4 p.m. Monday.
People can register online at govote.ky.gov.
Secretary of State Michael Adams said this website keeps the registration process simple.
“That’s our Swiss army knife of Kentucky elections,” he said. “You can register to vote, you can check your voting information to make sure it’s accurate. And you can volunteer to be a poll worker and you can request your absentee ballot there as well.”
Adams said people need to have some basic information on hand when they sign up to vote: their name, address, Social Security number and which, if any, political party they’d like to join.
He’s one of the candidates who will be on the ballot next month. He’s up for reelection and faces two primary challengers: Republicans Stephen Knipper of Independence and Allen Maricle of Lebanon Junction.
People who live in the Louisville area and want to cast a ballot in the upcoming election also can register to vote in person, rather than signing up online. They just need to swing by any local Jefferson County Clerk’s office in time to meet the Monday afternoon deadline.
The primary election is set for May 16.
Whoever wins each party’s primary will advance to the final round and face off in the November general election.
A person is supposed to be a legal adult in order to be eligible to vote in the fall election. But Erran Huber, communications director for the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office, said there’s an exception for the primary.
“If you are 17 years old now, you’re going to be 18 by Election Day on November 7, then you are eligible to register and you are eligible to vote in the primary election,” he said.
People who already are registered voters but want to change their party so they can vote in a different batch of primary races are out of luck, though. They had to do that by the end of December.
