Party Change Voter Registration Deadline this Month

December 31st is the date by which you must be registered to vote as a member of the political party whose primary election you want to vote in in 2011.

Stick with us on this, it's a little complicated.

Independents and Democrats will not be able to vote in partisan Republican primaries on May 17th, 2011.  Likewise, Independents and Republicans will not be able to vote in partisan Democratic primaries.

So even though the election isn't until May of 2011, and we won't even have a full list of people running for office until late January, everyone who's registered in Kentucky now will need to nail down their political party be the end of this month. 

What's worse is that if someone waits until after the deadline to try to change their party, they can lose the right to vote in their current party's primary too. 

For example, if someone is registered as a Democrat now and decides in March of 2011 that they like some of the Republican candidates running.  If they try to change their party then, they will not only fail to be registered as a Republican for the primary, they will also forfeit their right to vote in Democratic primary. 

Note that people who are registered as part of a third party (Greens, Libertarians, etc.) are effectively in the same category as registered independents in that they will not be able to vote in partisan primary elections unless they change their registration by December 31st.

Note also that none of this applies to people who are not currently registered in Kentucky.  They can pick any party they want to if they register by April 18th, 2011 and vote in that party's Primary.  

To check what party you are currently registered as, visit https://cdcbp.ky.gov/VICWeb/index.jsp

If you wish to change your political party affiliation so that you can vote in partisan primaries, visit your local County Clerk by the end of their business day on December 31st.  http://www.elect.ky.gov/countyclerks.htm

You can also print out and mail in a voter registration card by finding the file online at http://www.elect.ky.gov/register.htm

Making sure people are set up by the end of the year might be some of the most important 2011 Primary Election work we do.

Please help spread the word.

Election Dates
December 31st, 2010 - Party Change Deadline
January 20th, 2011 - Deadline to to file to run for public office
April 18th, 2011 - Primary Voter Registration Deadline
May 17th, 2011 - Primary Election

Note added on December 2nd - We recognize that some people might have good reasons to want to remain registered as an Independent this election and that's certainly a viable choice open to all of us.  What we most want to do is to make the space for people to understand their choices and to make an informed one.  See the comments section for extended thoughts on this.