Registered voters across Kentucky and here in Clinton County will go to the polls next Tuesday, November 8 to elect the entire slate of state officers to serve the Commonwealth for the next four years.

There will actually be six races that will appear on the ballot, with the Governor/Lt. Governor being elected as a “team” similar to a Presidential and Vice Presidential ticket.

There is a three-way race for the state’s chief executive office of governor this year, with Democrat incumbent Steve Beshear being challenged by both Republican Senate President David Williams of Burkesville and perennial candidate, Gatewood Galbraith, who is seeking the seat as an independent.

The other state wide races that will be settled by voters next week will include Secretary of State, Attorney General, Auditor of Public Accounts, State Treasurer and Commissioner of Agriculture, the latter seat being given up by Richie Farmer, a Republican candidate for Kentucky Lt. Governor. Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson is running with Beshear on the Democrat slate for Lt. Governor of the state.

This past Tuesday, November 1 was the final day for persons to apply for a mail-in paper absentee ballot. The voting machine in the county clerk’s office is open through Monday, November 7 for persons who will not be in the county on election day.

Absentee voting is only for persons who will be out-of-town on election day, have a medical emergency which prevents them from getting to the polls, or are members of the Armed Forces who are deployed. The latter group have up through November 7 to apply to vote absentee if they learn of their deployment seven days prior to election day.

Despite next Tuesday’s election being for statewide offices, voter turnout is expected to be moderate at best.

As of September 15, according to records from the Kentucky State Board of Elections, a total of 7,163 Clinton Countians were registered to vote in the upcoming November election.

Of that total, 5,607 were Republicans, 1,450 were registered Democrats and 106 were under “other” party affiliations. Female voters continue to outnumber male voters in the county, with 3,734 women registered to vote while 3,429 males were eligible to cast ballots.

Polls will open next Tuesday morning at 6 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. or when the last voter in line to cast a ballot at the time line has had a chance to vote.

(Details and local results of next week’s November General Election will appear in next week’s Clinton County News.)

Several people were on hand Saturday morning at the Republican Headquarters when nearly the entire Republican ticket for the fall 2011 election showed up in Clinton County during a final bus tour across Kentucky in the days leading up to next Tuesday’s general election.

Among those present, were Senator David Williams and Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer, shown above who are running for Governor and Lieutenent Governor respectively, as well as Secretary of State candidate Bill Johnson, the Republican nominee for Auditor of Public Accounts John T. Kemper III and the nominee for Commissioner of Agriculture James R. Comer. Kentucky’s Republican nominee for State Treasurer, K.C. Crosbie was also on hand and gave a speech on Saturday.