Topeka ? A record number of Kansans will vote in the general election, Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh predicted Thursday.

“From the courthouse to the White House, Kansans’ voices are going to be heard,” Thornburgh said.

Thornburgh predicted 1,288,200 voters will cast ballots in Tuesday’s election. That is 76 percent of registered voters.

The number of votes would be a record though Kansas has had higher percentages of registered voters vote in several past presidential elections, such as 85 percent in 1992 and 78.4 percent in 1988.

But a 76 percent turnout would be higher than the last presidential election when 66.7 percent of registered voters cast ballots.

Thornburgh said his record-setting prediction was based on a “crush” of 100,000 people registering to vote since the August primaries, and what appears to be a record number of people casting advance ballots.

In Johnson County alone, a record 81,000 advance ballots have been cast with several days remaining to cast votes in advance.

He said an exciting presidential race, numerous contested state legislative races and local ballot questions are also driving people to vote.

He also said a ten-fold increase in the number of young students participating in the Kids Voting Kansas program will increase voter participation among parents.

Thornburgh said some voters may have to wait in line a while on Election Day, and he asked that everyone have patience. “A great day lies ahead for us next Tuesday,” he said.

As of Thursday, there were 1,687,896 registered voters in Kansas. Some counties have still not reported their final tallies, so that number is expected to climb to about 1,695,000, Thornburgh said.

The affiliation of Kansas voters is as follows:

Republican — 779,687

Democrat — 453,039

Unaffiliated — 443,487

Libertarian — 9,399

Reform — 2,285

In Douglas County, there are 65,181 registered voters. Their affiliation is as follows:

Republican — 22,648

Democrat — 20,167

Unaffiliated — 21,718

Libertarian — 570

Reform — 78