For years, Northern Kentucky has struggled to get voters to the polls, particularly in nonpresidential elections.
Improving turnout might require more than convincing residents to participate. It could mean changing how Kentucky conducts its elections.
From expanding early voting to opening partisan primaries to independent voters, researchers and election experts have identified potential solutions, some of which have already produced measurable results in other states.
In the 2023 gubernatorial election, voter turnout reached 38.5% in Boone County, 40% in Campbell County and 34.7% in Kenton County. Those figures increased significantly during the 2024 presidential election, reaching 59%, 62% and 55.8%, respectively.
Kentucky also trails neighboring Ohio. Statewide turnout was 38.1% in Kentucky in 2023, compared to 49.63% in Ohio. The states had different contests on their 2023 ballots, with Kentucky voters deciding a gubernatorial race and Ohio voters considering statewide ballot measures on abortion rights and recreational marijuana.
In the 2024 presidential election year, turnout reached 58.8% in Kentucky and approximately 71.7% in Ohio.
The disparity raises questions about what keeps Northern Kentuckians from voting and whether changes to the state’s election system could encourage greater participation.
Former Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson said the region faces several unique obstacles, including its location within the Cincinnati media market.
“One challenge is Northern Kentucky is part of a large media market where the vast majority of residents are not Kentuckians,” Grayson said.
Although Northern Kentucky accounts for a substantial portion of the Greater Cincinnati population, Grayson said the region receives relatively little coverage from the area’s television and radio stations. As a result, residents may hear less about Kentucky elections, candidates and issues.
The same problem extends to political advertising. Kentucky candidates purchasing advertisements in the Cincinnati market must pay to reach large numbers of Ohio voters who cannot vote in their races. Grayson said that can discourage candidates from investing campaign resources in Northern Kentucky.
Lower turnout can also discourage candidates from spending time and money campaigning in the region, reinforcing a cycle of limited political engagement.
Northern Kentucky’s fragmented government structure presents another challenge. With three counties, dozens of cities and multiple school districts, residents may be unfamiliar with the officials representing them. Grayson said the region’s population of former Ohio residents can add to that confusion, particularly when it comes to Kentucky-specific offices such as a county judge/executive.
While increasing voter awareness is one part of the solution, changing the rules surrounding elections could have a more lasting impact.
Making voting easier
Kentucky has already taken steps to make voting more accessible.
The state introduced three days of no-excuse, in-person early voting, allowing residents to cast their ballots on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday before Election Day without providing a reason.
Eligible voters can also cast absentee ballots under certain circumstances.
Grayson said expanding early voting further could help residents who struggle to find time to vote because of work schedules, transportation or other responsibilities. He suggested allowing voters to cast ballots across a longer period that includes two Saturdays before Election Day.
“(If) you can vote on that Saturday, Monday through Friday, Saturday, having that full period might increase the margins a little bit more,” Grayson said.
Northern Kentucky University Regents’ Professor of Political Science and Assistant Vice Provost for Outreach and Engagement Shauna Reilly said changes to Kentucky’s voting procedures have already reduced some barriers residents previously faced.
“I think one of the biggest challenges with primaries is people just don’t know about them,” Reilly said.
Reilly said the availability of early voting and absentee options has made participation more convenient, but Kentucky still has rules that can limit who participates, particularly during primaries.
Kentucky conducts closed partisan primaries, meaning voters generally must be registered with a political party to participate in that party’s nomination. Independents can vote in nonpartisan races when those races appear on the primary ballot (such as city council), but they cannot choose between Republican or Democratic candidates.
Reilly said a closed primary system does typically lend itself to a lower voter turnout.
That restriction is especially significant in Northern Kentucky, where the winner of a Republican primary often enters the general election as the favorite.
“I think if you want to have an impact in the primary, then you register as a Republican in this area, whether you fully identify that way or not,” she said.
Grayson said opening Kentucky’s primaries to independent voters could increase participation by allowing people who currently cannot vote in partisan contests to have a say in selecting nominees.
The change would not necessarily require Kentucky to abandon partisan primaries. Some states allow unaffiliated voters to select one party’s ballot without maintaining a permanent party affiliation.
That kind of change could increase the number of eligible primary voters, although it would not guarantee that those voters would participate.
What other states have tried
One of the more substantial approaches to increasing turnout has been making voting more convenient through expanded mail voting.
Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Utah and Hawaii have systems that automatically distribute ballots by mail to registered voters. Residents can then return those ballots through approved methods, including mail and designated drop-off locations.
Research suggests these systems can increase turnout, although the amount varies.
A study examining Colorado’s transition to all-mail voting in 2014 found that turnout increased by approximately 8%. Researchers estimated that the change resulted in roughly 900,000 additional ballots being cast between 2014 and 2018.
The study also found that younger voters experienced particularly large gains, with turnout increasing by approximately 10% among voters aged 30 and younger. Researchers identified improvements among lower-income voters, people with less formal education and blue-collar workers as well.
The findings suggest that making voting more convenient can help people who face greater obstacles to participating.
However, the evidence is not uniform. The MIT Election Data and Science Lab notes that some earlier studies of Oregon’s mail-voting system estimated turnout increases of around 10%, but later research did not consistently reproduce those results.
Other studies have found more modest gains, particularly during presidential elections when participation is already relatively high.
Reilly pointed to Oregon as an example of how removing barriers can encourage participation, although she also acknowledged that different voting systems create administrative challenges.
States must still verify voter eligibility, maintain accurate registration records and ensure ballots are counted securely.
For Kentucky, adopting universal mail voting would represent a substantial departure from its current system, which generally requires voters to meet specific eligibility requirements to receive absentee ballots.
Still, the research offers evidence that voting procedures themselves can influence whether people participate.
Could changing the election calendar make a bigger difference?
Another possible solution would not change how residents cast their ballots, but when they vote.
Kentucky holds its gubernatorial elections in odd-numbered years, separate from presidential and congressional elections. That means voters must return to the polls in an additional election cycle to choose the state’s governor and other statewide officials.
“We have higher turnout in the even-numbered years than in the odd year, so the best thing you could do from a Northern Kentucky standpoint would be to get that (gubernatorial) election moved to an even-numbered year,” Grayson said.
The reasoning is straightforward: When more offices appear on the same ballot, voters who are already motivated to participate in high-profile races also have the opportunity to vote in races that might otherwise attract less attention.
Research supports that approach.
A study published through the MIT Election Data and Science Lab looked at California municipalities that moved their local elections to coincide with statewide contests. Researchers found that turnout increased by approximately 3% more than would have been expected without the change.
Other research has found even larger effects when local elections move from stand-alone dates to presidential or midterm election cycles.
Researchers studying municipal elections have found that holding local contests alongside national elections can roughly double participation in those local races. Studies also suggest that aligning elections can increase participation among younger and less affluent voters.
Those findings are particularly relevant to Kentucky, where turnout can differ by more than 20% between gubernatorial and presidential elections.
Grayson said Kentucky has considered changing its election calendar before.
He pointed to a constitutional amendment approved in 1992 that eventually moved county elections from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years, consolidating them with federal midterm elections. Grayson said such a change would require another constitutional amendment approved by voters.
Kentucky State Sen. Chris McDaniel, a Republican from Ryland Heights, has repeatedly proposed moving Kentucky’s gubernatorial elections to even-numbered years to increase voter participation. His 2024 Senate Bill 10 would have moved elections for governor and other statewide constitutional offices to presidential election years beginning in 2032. The bill passed the Senate 26-9 but stalled in the House.
The potential benefits extend beyond increasing the number of people casting ballots.
Aligning elections could also reduce the number of separate elections residents must remember and make it easier for candidates, election officials and news organizations to communicate when voting is taking place.
Why higher turnout isn’t guaranteed
Despite evidence supporting these reforms, neither Grayson nor Reilly believes there is a single solution that will eliminate Northern Kentucky’s turnout problem.
The region’s 2026 primary election provides an example of why turnout can increase even without major changes to voting laws.
It included competitive Republican primaries, like the race for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District when incumbent U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie lost to challenger Ed Gallrein in a race that generated substantial campaign spending and public attention.
Grayson said approximately $30 million was spent in the congressional primary, bringing an unusual level of political advertising and voter outreach to Northern Kentucky.
The result was higher primary turnout than the region typically experiences, but that does not necessarily mean the voters who participated will return for future elections.
“The literature tells us that generally these folks will go back to being more low-profile voters that are motivated by a specific candidate,” Reilly said.
She said maintaining participation in primaries is particularly difficult because voters often need a competitive race or other compelling reason to participate.
The 2026 primary also illustrates the difficulty of determining whether election reforms are effective. Kentucky had already implemented expanded early voting before that election, but turnout was also influenced by competitive candidates, substantial spending and national political attention.
“I think you have to look over a long period of time to try to iron out a little bit of those variables of competition,” Grayson said.
There are political considerations, too.
Expanding mail voting, changing primary eligibility or moving elections to different years would require lawmakers to agree on changes that could affect how campaigns operate and which voters participate.
Election security concerns also shape discussions about expanded voting access. Policymakers must consider how to verify eligibility, prevent improper voting and maintain public confidence while making participation more convenient.
Moving elections to even-numbered years could create another trade-off: State and local candidates might have to compete for attention with presidential and congressional campaigns.
A review of election consolidation research by the University of Virginia’s Karsh Institute of Democracy identified increased turnout as a consistent benefit, but also warned that local issues can receive less attention when elections are dominated by national politics.
Even reforms that appear straightforward can take years to implement, particularly when they require constitutional amendments.
Beyond Election Day
For Reilly, improving turnout also means helping residents understand the communities they live in and the decisions being made on their behalf.
She said residents who are more engaged with local government and community issues are generally more likely to participate in elections.
“I think another factor that is maybe less procedural that impacts participation is just community engagement,” Reilly said.
Programs such as local citizens academies and public forums can introduce residents to their elected officials and explain how government decisions affect everyday life, but community engagement also faces challenges. Work schedules, family responsibilities and changes in how people receive information can make it difficult for residents to stay involved.
That is particularly relevant in Northern Kentucky, where many residents live, work and consume news across state lines.
Grayson said the region’s relatively low turnout can have consequences beyond election results.
Candidates and campaigns often direct resources toward areas where they expect the most votes. When Northern Kentucky consistently turns out at lower rates, it can receive less attention, reinforcing the same lack of engagement that contributes to low participation.
Breaking that cycle could mean combining better access to voting with more competitive elections, stronger local information and a clearer understanding of what elected officials actually do.
The research from other states suggests that relatively simple structural changes, particularly aligning elections and reducing barriers to casting ballots, can bring more people into the political process, but those changes alone cannot guarantee an informed or engaged voter.
For Northern Kentucky, the larger question is whether residents will have more opportunities to participate in choosing the officials who make decisions about their daily lives and whether the state’s election system makes it easier for them to do so.
