‘Prove my prediction wrong.’ Grimes says less than half will vote in Kentucky.

About 46 percent of the 3.4 million registered Kentucky voters will cast ballots in Tuesday’s general election, Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes predicted Thursday.

Grimes, the state’s chief election official, said the projected turnout is consistent with the last two mid-term elections — 45.9 percent in 2014 and 49.1 percent in 2010. Grimes said she based her projection on historical data and current absentee voting patterns.

Absentee ballots tend to be running high in counties that have heated elections, she said.

In Fayette County, the most populous county in the hotly-contested Sixth Congressional District, about 1.99 percent of the county’s registered voters had voted absentee as of Monday. In 2014, that number was 1.26 percent on the same day.

Republican incumbent Andy Barr is facing a tough challenge from Democrat Amy McGrath in the 19-county district.

Statewide data from Grimes’ office show 1.6 percent absentee voting eight days before the election, up from 1.36 percent in 2014.

Several counties in Eastern Kentucky showed significant gains in absentee voting this year. Menifee County increased the most, jumping from 4.58 percent in 2014 to 6.45 percent this year.

As of Monday, more than 30,000 in-person absentee votes had been recorded in county clerks’ offices and nearly 24,000 mail-in absentee ballots had been sent to voters who had requested them.

No more absentee ballots are being mailed. A voter can vote absentee in county clerks’ offices through Monday.

Grimes said she hopes her projection is wrong. “It’s not OK, though, for more than half of our voters not to participate, and there’s still time to prove my prediction wrong. I’m calling on all Kentucky voters to make a plan to vote next Tuesday.”

About 23 percent of Kentucky voters cast ballots in last May’s primary election to choose party nominees for November’s general election.

Grimes said voters can prepare to vote Tuesday by checking their polling places and viewing sample ballots through GoVoteKY.com.

As of Oct. 17, Kentucky had 3.4 million registered voters. Their party breakdown was 49.6 percent Democrat, 41.7 percent Republican and 8.68 percent others.

Forty-seven percent of Kentucky’s registered voters are men and 53 percent are women.

Polls in Kentucky will be open from 6 a.m to 6 p.m. local time.