Primary Election Day is May 17. Democrats and Republicans will vote to nominate candidates for partisan elections that’ll be decided this November.
Voting resources
Jefferson County voters who are registered to cast ballots in the Republican, Democratic and non-partisan primaries — that last category is for judicial races — can check their precinct and polling location here. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. If you are in line by 6 p.m., state law says you must be allowed to vote.
Early in-person voting for the primary will take place May 12-14, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Details including voting locations are available here. This is open to any registered voter.
Absentee voting is available to registered voters who meet certain criteria, such as temporarily residing out of state or being incarcerated in jail but not convicted of a crime. The deadline to request a mail-in absentee ballot is May 3 through the Secretary of State’s online portal. In-person absentee voting will take place May 4-6 and May 9-11 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Jefferson County Clerk's Office Election Center, 1000 E. Liberty St.
Voters may view sample ballots here. They may look up their Metro Council districts by entering their address into LOJIC here.
What’s on the ballot?
WFPL News reporters and editors reviewed candidate filings and interviewed or surveyed those running for key offices in Louisville this year. All candidates who responded to interview or survey requests by the deadline were included in the guide.
Here’s a rundown of primary races in Louisville:
Mayor
For Louisville voters, the mayoral race is top of mind. With a crowded and diverse field of hopefuls, residents will be looking for the person they think can best move the city forward after 12 years under the now term-limited Mayor Greg Fischer.
- Bill Dieruf (Republican)
- Timothy Findley Jr. (Democrat)
- Skylar Graudick (Democrat)
- Craig Greenberg (Democrat)
- Chartrael Hall (Republican)
- Colin Hardin (Democrat)
- Philip Molestina (Republican)
- David Nicholson (Democrat)
- Anthony Oxendine (Democrat)
- Shameka Parrish-Wright (Democrat)
- Rob Stark Reishman (Republican)
- Sergio Alexander Lopez (Democrat) — did not respond
County Attorney
The Jefferson County Attorney’s office represents Louisville Metro Government and the Metro Council in legal matters. It’s responsible for prosecuting misdemeanors and oversees child support cases. Incumbent Mike O’Connell, a Democrat, is seeking his fourth term. He faces two challengers.
Metro Council
There are 26 Metro Council members who make up the legislative branch of Louisville’s government. This year, all the odd-numbered seats are up for election. WFPL covered the races that are competitive at the primary level.
Judicial
Kentucky is one of only ten states that elects judges at every level of its court system through nonpartisan elections. Judges in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Circuit Courts and Family Courts are elected to eight-year terms, while District judges are elected to four-year terms.
Nine of Jefferson County’s 43 judicial elections have three or more candidates this year, subjecting them to primary elections on May 17 to determine who will advance to the general election on November 8.
- 30th Circuit Court, Division 5
- 30th Circuit Court, Division 7
- 30th Circuit Court, Division 9
- 30th Circuit Court, Division 10
- 30th District Court, Division 4
- 30th District Court, Division 7
- 30th District Court, Division 8
- 30th District Court, Division 15
- Court of Appeals District 4, Division 2
U.S. House & Senate
All of Kentucky’s congressional districts are on the ballot this year, with five of six incumbents running for reelection. U.S. Sen. Rand Paul is running for a third six-year term and has drawn several Republican challengers for the primary election. Former Democratic state Rep. Charles Booker is running for Senate again, and three other Democrats will also be on the ballot.
This post was updated to include a link to LOJIC Metro Council maps.
