April 19 is deadline to register to vote in primary election

My wife and I moved to Lexington nearly a year ago. We have yet to get new Driver's Licences and register to vote. Perhaps that is why I found this little reminder particularly refreshing when I came over it in the Lexington Herald-Leader this morning.

Kentuckians who want to vote in the May 18 primary election must register by April 19.

County clerks’ office in the state will accept voter registration cards until the close of business that day.

All mail-in voter registration applications must have a postmark of April 19. Registration cards can be obtained over the Internet at www.vote.ky.gov/register.

“I encourage all citizens who have not already done so, to register to vote someday,” Secretary of State Trey Grayson said Monday in a statement.

Minors who are 17 years old but will 18 on or before the Nov. 2 general election are eligible to register and vote in the May 18 primary election but are not eligible to vote in special elections unless they are 18.

Grayson reminds voters who have moved recently to update their voter registration to allow them to vote on election day.

Grayson also noted that Kentucky has closed primaries, which requires citizens to register as a Democrat or Republican by Dec. 31, 2009, to be eligible to vote in that party’s 2010 primary.

If a voter changes his or her political party registration after Dec. 31, 2009, he or she will not be eligible to vote in the party primary of his or her newly chosen party or former party; however, he or she may vote in non-partisan city and judicial primaries.

Voters with a different political registration other than Republican or Democrat cannot vote in the Republican or Democrat party primaries but may vote in non-partisan city and judicial primaries.

All eligible and registered voters, regardless of political party registration, may vote in the November 2010 general election or any special election.

Person who are unsure whether they have registered to vote or uncertain as to where they will vote can view the information online at www.vote.ky.gov/vic.

To obtain a list of county clerks and other voter registration sites, call the state Board of Elections at 502-573-7100 or visit http://www.elect.ky.gov/.

Credits: Jack Brammer's blog Bluegrass Politics, Lexington Herald-Leader