Bill Could Give Independents Primary Votes

A bill that will go before the Kentucky General Assembly in 2009 would allow Independents a vote in the state’s primaries.Republican Representative Jimmy Higdon of Lebanon has pre-filed the measure, which would let Independents cast ballots in either the Republican or Democratic primary without having to change their registration.Higdon says some of his constituents couldn’t vote in the 2008 presidential primaries, and they’ve asked him to sponsor the bill.“There’s quite a few of those in Kentucky," he says. "I know in my representative district, there’s about a thousand voters who are registered as independent or other.”Kentucky has a closed primary system, meaning only members of the major parties are allowed to vote in their respective primaries.