How Kentucky’s Primary Election System Works

Kentucky uses a closed primary system, meaning voters must be registered with a political party in advance in order to participate in that party’s primary election. Voters choose either the Democratic or Republican primary ballot based on their party registration.

Kentucky does not allow crossover voting in its primaries, so voters may only participate in the primary of the party with which they are registered. Primary elections determine each party’s nominees for offices such as U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor, statewide offices, and state and local positions.

Kentucky does not use statewide primary runoff elections; instead, the candidate with the most votes in each primary wins the nomination.