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Grimes Pushing Legislation to Boost Voter Turnout

via Twitter, @KySecofState

Kentucky’s Secretary of State says lawmakers have a way to increase voter participation statewide. Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes appeared before a House committee in Frankfort Monday in support of early voting legislation.

Under a bill proposed by Secretary Grimes, Kentucky voters could cast early in-person ballots without an excuse. Currently, voters must have a qualifying reason to vote early. Grimes points to the success of no-excuse early voting in other states. "Tennessee does have early voting without a qualifying excuse. And their presidential primary that they just held six days ago, they actually saw a record number of Tennesseeans coming out to participate early in the election," she says.

Only 30 percent of registered voters turned out in Kentucky’s 2015 general election. Grimes said no-excuse early voting would increase participation, reduce the stress on voting systems, and improve the performance of poll workers. If the legislation is approved, early voters would cast their ballots at least 12 days prior to election day, including two Saturdays.

Grimes appeared with Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett before a House committee Monday. More than 385,000 people voted in that state’s presidential primary last week, setting an early voting record. And Hargett said more people voted early during the 2012 presidential election than on election day.

Lisa is a Scottsville native and WKU alum. She has worked in radio as a news reporter and anchor for 18 years. Prior to joining WKU Public Radio, she most recently worked at WHAS in Louisville and WLAC in Nashville. She has received numerous awards from the Associated Press, including Best Reporter in Kentucky. Many of her stories have been heard on NPR.
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