Grimes Urging Voters to Visit GoVoteKY.com to Prepare to Vote 

FRANKFORT, Ky. (May 10, 2016) – Kentucky’s Primary Election is one week away, and Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, the state’s chief election official, is reminding all eligible voters to be prepared to cast their votes on May 17.

“Our democracy works best when everyone has a voice and everyone’s voice is heard,” said Grimes. “It is critical that every eligible Kentucky voter gets to the polls on May 17 to cast their ballot. Every election matters.”

Grimes is encouraging Kentuckians to visit GoVoteKY.com, a one-stop portal she recently launched for voting resources. Voters may avoid surprises on Election Day by verifying their polling locations and viewing sample ballots on the online portal. The portal also includes Grimes’ new online voter registration platform, which nearly 20,000 Kentuckians used to register or update their registration before the May Primary deadline.

All Kentucky Primary voters will consider candidates for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Kentucky State Senate (odd districts), and Kentucky House of Representatives. Locally, some voters will cast ballots in partisan and non-partisan races for city legislative bodies and certain offices with unexpired terms. Only Kentucky Democrats will vote for candidates for U.S. President because Republicans held a presidential caucus in March.

Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time, and any eligible voter who is in line to vote by 6 p.m. will be allowed to cast a ballot. Grimes reminds voters that the morning and evening rush hours and lunch time tend to be busiest, so individuals voting during those periods should plan accordingly.

Under Kentucky law, employers must allow employees who are eligible to vote to be absent from work for at least four hours in order to cast a ballot. Kentuckians who will be working on Election Day outside the county in which they reside are eligible to vote by absentee ballot. Employers may specify the hours during which an employee may be absent, and employees should request voting leave in advance of the day on which they will vote. Employers have discretion whether to compensate employees for voting leave.

In-person absentee voting is currently available in all county clerks’ offices and will remain open until close of business on May 16. Applications for mail-in absentee ballots must be received by the voter’s county clerk no later than close of business on May 10, and voted ballots must be received by the county clerk by 6 p.m., local time, on May 17.

For additional election information, visit GoVoteKY.com, follow @kysecofstate on Twitter and like Kentucky Office of the Secretary of State on Facebook.