By Lantern staff, Kentucky Lantern · May 19, 2026 A polling location is open for early voting at Paristown Hall in Louisville on Saturday. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley) Kentucky’s primary election day is here, and polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.  Earlier this month, Sec retary of State Michael Adams predicted a 20% turnout due to the number of races. “With hundreds of federal, state and local races on the primary ballot this May, we are expecting a turnout of about 20%,” Adams said in a release on May 8. “Primary turnout typically is 10%-15%.” Early voting continues to grow with 184,992 Kentuckians casting a ballot early, including absentee ballots. Adams said that on Saturday 46,955 Kentucky voters used early voting – 27,516 Republicans, 18,823 Democrats and 616 Independents.  “That is a 74% (!) increase from early voting in the last comparable election, the midterm primary in May 2022,” Adams said on X. Adams said Republican registration constitutes 48% of the Kentucky electorate, with 1,610,910 voters. Democratic registration accounts for 41% of the electorate, with 1,374,537 voters. Democratic registration grew by 1,168, a .09% increase. There are 379,997 voters registered under other political affiliations (mostly independent), making up 11% of the electorate.  Anyone who thinks they may have witnessed election regularities or violations on Tuesday is encouraged to call 800-328-VOTE (800-328-8683), a line monitored by the Office of the Attorney General. Reports can also be submitted online.  The hotline is open during regular business hours and from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. (Eastern time) on Election Day. The office reported as of Monday, they had received 135 pre-election day complaints from across the state, including campaign violations, vote buying and registration questions. The post Polls open in Kentucky’s hard-fought primary races appeared first on The Lexington Times. ...read more read less