LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Like elsewhere around the country, Kentucky is seeing record turnout and strong enthusiasm among voters ahead of the 2024 general election.
According to Secretary of State Michael Adams, 792,476 Kentuckians have already cast their ballots after in-person excused absentee voting and early voting have finished.
He adds 656,277 Kentuckians voted early in person with an average of more than 215,000 Kentuckians voting over the three-day early voting period.
Of the 656,277 who used early voting – 345,380 (52.6%) are registered Republicans, 264, 441 (40.3%) are registered Democrats and 46,456 (7.1%) are Independent or other.
The overall registered voters in Kentucky are 46.8% Republican, 42.5% Democrat and 10.7% Independent or other.
Election officials say these are the unofficial total but said the numbers have defied expectations – especially compared to past years of early voting turnout.
What is driving people to the polls in 2024?
Oldham County Clerk Amy Alvey thinks it could be the enthusiasm to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump in this year’s presidential election.
"A lot of people are divided. There's no middle ground. It's either they’re for one side, or they're for the other. We had a huge turnout of our first time voters in Oldham County, a lot of young kids coming in and a lot of the elderly. They really utilize early voting so that they don't have to stand in long lines on election day,” she said.
WHAS11 News also spoke with the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office who said across the county, one in six registered voters showed up to vote early during the early voting period.
That’s not including the mail-in ballots, according to JCCO spokesperson Ashley Tinius, who said there are about 15,000 more.
"It's a presidential election and those are popular with voters," Tinius said. "When you look at what's going on in the world, everyone has strong opinions about that."
Tinius said this year's election attracted voters who sat out in past years.
"You might see first time voters because of the popularity of this election, but it doesn't necessarily mean that it's a long of younger voters," Tinius said. "You're seeing a little bit of everything."
In Oldham County, Alvey said 19,000 ballots were cast over the three-day period.
"We all anticipated a high turnout, but not this high," Alvey said.
Alvey said she saw many first-time voters, specifically young people, and elderly voters.
"Social media has really pushed the young population to get involved," Alvey said. "We have a range of 18-year-old poll workers and my oldest has just turned 94."
She said the enthusiasm to vote was "heartwarming for someone that spends many hours and days of their life preparing for it."
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