FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - The Senate has passed legislation that
would allow registered independents to vote in Democratic and
Republican primaries.

The proposal, championed by Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, was approved 23-13 on Thursday.

Higdon said the legislation, if approved by the House and signed
into law by the governor, would allow some 200,000 independent
voters to take part in Kentucky's primary elections. They could
only vote for candidates of one party, not switch between the two.

Similar measures in the past have failed because of concern that
voters from one party might register as independents to affect the
outcome of the other party's primary. Higdon's proposal sets a Dec.
31 deadline for registering independents to discourage that from
happening.
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The legislation is Senate Bill 41.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)