Voter turnout exceeds prediction

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Voter turnout on Tuesday slightly surpassed the prediction of Kentucky Secretary of State Elaine Walker.

Walker had said she expected about a 25 percent turnout, and the final figure was 28.6 percent, or 842,046 ballots. That was still down from the 37.8 percent of registered voters who cast a ballot in 2007, the last Kentucky governor's race.

This year, Kentuckians were deciding who would fill the governor's office and a handful of other statewide positions for the next four years.

A record 2,944,603 people were registered to vote in Kentucky this year. Just more than 26,000 people had voted early using absentee ballots as of Monday. That was 10,000 fewer votes than had been cast at the same time in the 2007 governor's race.