Day one of early voting wrapped up in Warren County

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - Today was the first day of early in-person voting across the state of Kentucky, which meant voters will have the opportunity to cast their ballots early in this year’s election.

Although the official Election Day is on Tuesday, many Kentucky voters went to the polls on Thursday to cast their ballots.

However, not every Kentucky voter is allowed to vote in this year’s primary.

“Kentucky has closed primaries,” said Lynette Yates, Warren County clerk. “You have to either be a Republican or a Democrat to vote in a primary. That has been state law forever.”

Independent voters account for 10% of the voter registration in Kentucky, meaning only 90% of registered voters are allowed to vote.

One early voter said it does not matter what political party someone is affiliated with. What matters is exercising your right to vote.

“It was very easy, very simple, and very quick. No matter if you are a Democrat or a Republican, we all need to have our say in what is going on in government. It is just what we need to do and what I believe in,” said Cathy Bishop, an early Kentucky voter.

Despite low voter turnout on Thursday, Warren County Clerk Lynette Yates hopes to see more people come out and vote in this election … either early in person or on Election Day.

“We have a huge race. We have 12 candidates for Governor on the Republican ticket. I think as Friday and Saturday get here with early voting we look for a bigger day on Saturday. We have noticed, even since early voting has started, that more people turn out on Election Day,” said Yates.

For a full list of early voting locations in South Central Kentucky, click here.

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