FRANKFORT, Ky. (Kentucky Today) – Secretary of State Michael Adams announced on Friday that the number of registered voters in Kentucky has declined significantly since he took office in 2020, despite Kentucky’s rising population during that time.
This finding comes following the removal of 231,110 ineligible voters from the rolls in February in compliance with federal and state law.
“On my watch, we have removed 671,292 ineligible voters from Kentucky’s rolls, including 255,484 deceased voters,” said Adams. “Kentuckians trust our elections, and they should.”
Of the 231,110 total voters who were removed, 225,311 were inactive, 5,122 were deceased, 348 had registered to vote in other states, 231 were felony convicts, 38 were adjudged mentally incompetent, 33 were duplicate registrations, and 27 who voluntarily de-registered.
Breaking down the 225,311 inactive voters removed, 99,168 were Democrats, 95,732 were Republicans, and 30,411 were registered under other affiliations. The National Voter Registration Act, and Kentucky’s equivalent law, require a multi-year process to remove inactive voters unless they die, are judged mentally incompetent or guilty of a felony, or act to remove themselves.
According to the current numbers, Republican registration accounts for 47 percent of the electorate, with 1,580,776 voters. Republican registration went down by 95,675 voters, a 5.71 percent decrease. Democratic registration constitutes 42 percent of the electorate, with 1,396,723 voters. Democratic registration dropped by 101,942 voters, a 6.8 percent decrease. There are 357,311 voters registered under other political affiliations, making up 11 percent of the electorate. The “Other” registration fell by 29,434, a 7.61 percent decrease.
Kentucky has no scheduled primary or general elections scheduled in 2025, however there is the possibility of special elections, for such things as filling vacancies and wet/dry votes.
