The deadline to register to vote in the upcoming May 22 primary election is Monday, April 23. County clerks’ offices throughout Kentucky will accept voter registration cards until the close of business on that date. Mail-in voter registration applications must be postmarked by April 19.

“Voter turnout tends to be higher during presidential election years,” Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes noted. In anticipation of heightened interest, she noted several important voting laws:

• Changes in party affiliation for the 2012 primary election were due by Dec. 31, 2011. Voters who changed their party affiliation after that date are not eligible to vote in partisan races in the primary, although they may vote in nonpartisan races. Since January 1, 2012, more than 7,000 voters have switched party affiliation, forfeiting their ability to vote in partisan primaries in May.

• Voters who have recently moved need to update their voter registration information by no later than April 23. Under state law, individuals who move from one county to another county while the voter registration books are open and fail to update their registration information before the books close will not be able to vote in the primary election.

• Minors who are 17 years old but will be 18 years old on or before the Nov. 6 general election are eligible to register and entitled to vote in the upcoming primary.

“The success of our democratic society is premised on all eligible citizens exercising the right to vote,” said Grimes. “I hope that as many Kentuckians as are able will register and participate in the upcoming elections.”

Voters can check their current registration status at https://cdcbp.ky.gov/VICWeb/index.jsp and view sample ballots at http://www.sos.ky.gov. Registration cards and other information about registering to vote are available at http://elect.ky.gov.