Party Affiliation Must Be Changed This Year To Vote In 2011 Primary

Time is running out for anyone hoping to change their party affiliation for next year’s primaries.Kentucky is a closed primary state, which means you cannot cross party lines to vote for a candidate outside your party. The primary is May 17th, but if you want to change your party affiliation before the primary, you must do so by December 31st.Secretary of State Trey Grayson admits that during the holidays most people are not thinking about next year’s primary, but that’s the law.“If you switch after the first of the year, you can’t vote in your old party primary because you’re not a member anymore," he says. "But then you can’t vote in the new party primary because you didn’t meet that deadline. So, we have every year, 10,000 or so folks who switch their party affiliation after the first of the year and are thus ineligible to vote in a party primary.”The state’s seven constitutional offices, including governor and lieutenant governor, are on the ballot next year. The filing deadline for most candidates to qualify is January 25th.