On Tuesday, county officials in Kenton and Campbell will consider legislation that would ban electioneering, or active campaigning, within 200 feet of a polling place. Boone County Fiscal Court will discuss the proposed change on Oct. 19, and officials in all three counties plan to vote on the electioneering law before Election Day.

Under the identical proposals, anyone convicted of the misdemeanor would face a fine of up to $500, or up to a year in jail - or both.

"The sheriff who's charged with securing the polls would have the authority to take (offenders) away," Kenton County Attorney Garry Edmondson said.

Kenton County Clerk Bill Aylor said that Northern Kentucky clerks have lobbied for the change. With many areas predicting record turnouts on Nov. 2, elections officials don't want campaigners to slow the voting process or intimidate voters.

The local counties would join 97 other Kentucky counties that have passed electioneering laws after a state electioneering law was struck down in January.

The Kentucky Association of County Clerks is lobbying the state legislature to adopt a statewide electioneering law next year, said Campbell County Clerk Jack Snodgrass, the group's president.

This fall, Kentucky voters will consider a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriages and deny legal recognition of civil unions. Voters also will decide dozens of offices - everything from school boards to a hotly contested congressional race and the presidential contest.

"The biggest problem that I see is the top of the ticket is very contentious, very emotional,'' Aylor said. "You also have a constitutional issue that's generated some strong emotions.''

Boone County Clerk Marilyn Rouse recalls walking a gantlet of candidates handing out fingernail files and ink pens at the polls when she first voted in Florence nearly 35 years ago.

"Candidates can still campaign near the polls," Rouse said, "but we don't want to intimidate voters."

The flood of new registered voters and the sheer number of races and issues have prompted Northern Kentucky clerks to predict high turnouts this election. Aylor is predicting 80 percent of Kenton County's voters will go to the polls, tying a record set in 1992. Rouse is predicting a record 75 percent turnout, and Campbell County Clerk Jack Snodgrass has projected 73 percent of the voters in that county will go to the polls this fall, matching 1992's high turnout.

E-mail cschroeder@enquirer.com