People say that records are kept to praise those that set them and to acknowledge that the record itself is meant to be broken.

On Oct. 16, the Kernel reported that during the primary election season, Kentuckians set a record by having the largest number of people in the state’s history come out and register just to have an option to choose a Democratic or Republican presidential candidate.

In the months since the primary elections, Kentuckians have had the opportunity to praise themselves for achieving such a high number, and had the chance to recruit other citizens to pass the high numbers that they gloated upon.

The voter registration deadline for the upcoming general election has come and gone, and now the numbers are in. The Kernel reported that 2,906,809 Kentuckians registered to vote and voice their opinion on the first Tuesday in November. A new record was born. The number for registered voters surpassed the previous record for the primary election by nearly 50,000 people, which is about a 1.74 percent increase, and it showed an increase of more than 100,000 registered voters from the 2004 presidential election.

Citizens should take a moment and acknowledge themselves for putting up such impressive numbers.

“Out of a state with 4 million citizens, we registered 2.9 million, which is a feat in itself,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Les Fugate.

The Kernel reported the party that benefited the most from these record numbers, was the “other” party. Out of the three categories voters had the option to choose from, more people chose not to affiliate with the two major parties — Democrat and Republican. Fugate said that the trend in affiliation was most likely due to an increase in registration from college students.

“The biggest surge came in the ‘other’ category,” Fugate said. “We can contribute that to college campuses, because college students tend to stray away from political parties.”

But despite the high marks, for the citizens that registered to vote, the work is not yet over. Another record needs to be broken. The state needs to see an increase in the amount of people who actually come out and vote on Nov. 4. While achieving such high numbers in registration is commendable, the honor will go to the wayside if people do not vote.

Kentuckians must exercise their democratic rights and choose a candidate who most closely represents their ideals, or we will be in danger of setting a not so honorable record — a record for least voter turnout.