Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes is expecting a record number of voters to cast ballots in next week's general election.

Grimes, the top state election officer, said Tuesday that legislative races seem to be generating enthusiasm among Kentucky voters. The presidential race, a competitive congressional race in central Kentucky and a heated Supreme Court race in eastern Kentucky also have voters revved.

Early absentee voting is on par with the 2008 presidential election when about 64 percent of Kentucky's 3 million voters turned out. Absentee voting is one of the chief indicators of interest in any given election and therefore an indicator of what turnout might be on Nov. 6.

As of Tuesday, some 73,000 voters had cast absentee ballots or were in the process of doing so.