Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams has announced that voter registration continued to grow in November, despite no state elections scheduled in the off-year.
“Despite the exhaustion many voters now feel with this era of politics, that has not stopped them from registering to vote in significant numbers, even in a year when we don’t vote,” Adams said.
In November, 3,748 people were removed from Kentucky’s voter rolls: 2,982 who were deceased, 385 felony with convictions, 259 who moved out of state, 65 adjudged mentally incompetent, 26 who voluntarily de-registered, 19 duplicate registrations, and 12 non-citizens.
Republican registration constitutes 48 percent of the electorate, with 1,595,408 voters. Republican registration grew by 2,412 voters, a .15 percent increase. Democratic registration accounts for 41 percent of the electorate, with 1,379,958 voters. Democratic registration fell by 1,914, a .14 percent decrease.
However, neither Republicans nor Democrats saw the largest percentage increase. There are 371,955 voters registered under other political affiliations (mostly independent), making up 11 percent of the electorate. “Other” registration rose by 1,209, a .33 percent increase.
While there was no General Election in Kentucky this year, in 2026, voters will have plenty of races where they can make their choices. Among them, the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Mitch McConnell of Louisville. The 83-year-old, who has been in that office since 1985 and is the longest serving U.S. Senator in Kentucky history, has announced he is not seeking an eighth term.
In addition, Kentucky’s six Congressional seats, all 100 in the Kentucky House and the even-numbered state Senate districts will also appear on the ballot in 2026.
Some important dates to know: the last day you can change your political party affiliation and be able to vote with your new party in the May primary is Dec. 31, 2025. The filing deadline for the 2026 primary is Jan. 9.
The primary election is May 19, although there will be three days of early in-person voting on Thursday, Friday and Saturday (May 14-16) prior to Election Day.
(Photo courtesy of WPSD.com)
By Tom Latek, Kentucky Today
