The Pros and Cons of Kentucky's Closed Primaries

Published: May 9, 2011, 4 a.m.

During next week's primary, as they have done for decades, members of the Democratic Party will choose their candidates and Republicans will do the same. The system is called a closed primary.' It excludes voters without a party affiliation. It also means voters registered in one party cannot vote in another party's primary. Now, there's been discussion in one statewide office race about the pros and cons of opening up the Kentucky primary a bit.