NEWS REPORT

Secretary of State Michael Adams announced on Friday that voter registration surged in the 10 days before the voter registration deadline, with 6,462 voters registering during the period Oct. 1 through 10, a trend that was reflected locally in Bell County.

During that same time period, Kentucky saw 1,803 voters removed for a variety of reasons. Deceased voters accounted 1,617 removals, 145 moved out of state and registered to vote elsewhere, 21 were adjudged mentally incompetent and 20 voluntarily de-registered.

In Bell County, the number of registered voters climbed by 50 from 19,561 in September to 19,611 by Oct. 10. There are more registered Republican voters in Bell County (11,749) than Democratic (6,568). The number of registered Republican voters is up slightly in October, from 11,714 to 11,749. Democrats lost one voter, dropping from 6,569 to 6,568.

With the deadline now passed, Republican registrants account for 46% of the electorate, with 1,602,958 voters. Republican registration increased by 2,678 voters, a .17% increase. Democratic registrants now make up 44% of the electorate, with 1,527,115 voters. Democratic registration rose by 823 voters, a .05% increase. In addition, there are 354,754 voters registered under other political parties, or 10% of the electorate. “Other” registration continued to outstrip both Democrats and Republicans, rising by 1,158 voters, a .33% increase.

“Voter registration is just the start,” Adams stated, “don’t forget to vote on November 7.”

There are several ways to cast your ballot.

The first is absentee voting by mail. During the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone was eligible to request a mail-in ballot. However, that returned to the original requirements, both for absentee ballot by mail and in-person excused absentee voting. Go to vrsws.sos.ky.gov/abrweb/. That also has a link to the portal where you can request an absentee ballot by mail. That portal will remain open through next Tuesday, Oct. 24.

After that date, you’ll still have three other ways to cast your ballot:

• Excused In-person Absentee Voting before Election Day, Oct. 25-Nov. 1.

• In-person No Excuse Absentee Voting before Election Day, Nov. 2-Nov. 4.

• In-person on Election Day, Nov. 7.

Since the pandemic, the number of polling places have been reduced, but you can now go to any location in your county. The complete list of locations is at elect.ky.gov/Voters/Pages/Polling-Locations.aspx.

The state’s Constitutional officers are all on the November ballot, including the Governor and Lt. Gov. slate, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Auditor, Treasurer and Agriculture Commissioner.

There are also circuit judge races in the 21st and 44th Circuits, family court judge in the 30th Circuit, a district judge in the 26th District and a special election for the 93rd District House seat in Fayette County.