Home » Grimes touting new online voter registration tool; only two thirds of Kentuckians are registered to vote

Grimes touting new online voter registration tool; only two thirds of Kentuckians are registered to vote

32.6% of registered voters cast ballots in 2015

FRANKFORT, Ky. (March 17, 2016) — In response to low voter turnout in the November General Election, Secretary of State Alison Lundergan on Wednesday kicked-off a tour across Kentucky to promote the commonwealth’s new online voter registration portal, GoVoteKY.com, in hopes of encouraging more Kentuckians to vote in this year’s elections.

vote-button-300x298Only two-thirds of eligible Kentuckians are registered to vote and only 32.6 percent of registered voters participated in the 2015 election, states the Secretary of State’s Office.

“It is now more convenient than ever to register to vote in Kentucky,” said Grimes. “In the next few weeks, we’ll be in every corner of the commonwealth urging citizens to use GoVoteKY.com to register to vote or update their registrations and to participate in the May Primary.”

Grimes was at a Town Hall meeting at Northern Kentucky University on Wednesday to discuss the portal’s ease of use, accessibility, and other election issues. Several students used the portal at the event to register to vote for the first time.

“Voting access is a vital issue, and many states are looking for ways to remove barriers. Online registration is a good example of that. It’s a real step forward to put this in place in Kentucky, and a change I expect college students will especially welcome,” said Mark Neikirk, executive director of the Scripps Howard Center for Civic Engagement at Northern Kentucky University. “We’ll be using this new tool at NKU in our voter registration drives with the expectation that it will make registration easier and, consequently, more frequent. It will mean that more young people will be voting—a welcome addition to our democracy.”

The town hall discussion also focused on the convenience of voters utilizing the portal, the improvement in accuracy of voter rolls, and the cost savings it provides to the commonwealth.

In the 2015 General Election, 28.5 percent of the 68,732 total registered voters in Campbell County voted on Election Day.

“We have to do better here in northern Kentucky and across our state. It is my goal that withGoVoteKY.com more citizens will take the first step to register and then vote,” said Grimes.

Grimes’ tour includes stops at each of Kentucky’s public universities ahead of the April 18 deadline to register to vote for the May 17 Primary Election. She will visit the University of Louisville on March 31 before traveling to the University of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, Western Kentucky University, Murray State University, Morehead State University and Kentucky State University.