News and Music Discovery
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Fayette County Clerk: High Voter Registration Doesn’t Always Equal High Voter Turnout

iStockPhoto

The November general election is less than a month away and Monday is the last day to register to vote in the Commonwealth.  Deadlines for voter registration are also today in Tennessee and tomorrow in Illinois. In Kentucky, Fayette County Clerk Don Blevins  says applications sent via mail must be postmarked Monday. 

“We're seeing a lot of cards coming in from various groups that are doing voter registration drives.  I don't think that will affect the overall amount of registered voters in Fayette County.  Generally speaking, most people are already registered through their driver's license.  We may see a few particularly young adults that are just turning 18.  But other than that, I think most everybody is ready to go," said Blevins.

Blevins says voter registration does not determine the outcome of any race.  "The biggest effect on the outcome of an election is simply this.  Who turns out to vote?  When you're talking about a 50 % turnout in this particular election cycle, there's many votes left on the table there that could easily sway an election one way or another.  So what it really comes down to, is not who's registered, it's who votes," added Blevins.

For those planning to be out of town on Election Day, Blevins says Monday is also the first day to cast a ballot for the November 4th election.  He says the deadline for filing for an absentee ballot is October 28th.

Stu Johnson is a reporter/producer at WEKU in Lexington, Kentucky.
Related Content