Amendments on the Kentucky Ballot

In November there are two amendments on the Kentucky Ballot. Here is a little information on those amendments: 

• Constitutional Amendment 1: this amendment is intended to add another measure that will prevent non-citizens in the state of Kentucky from voting in local, state, and federal elections. Here is what the actual amendment is in short: “No person who is not a citizen of the United States shall be allowed to vote in this state.” Here is how this amendment will appear on the ballot:  
  

• Are you in favor of amending Sections 145 and 155 of the Constitution of Kentucky to prohibit persons who are not citizens of the United States from being allowed to vote in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, as stated below? 
  

• Every citizen of the United States of the age of eighteen years who has resided in the state one year, and in the county six months, and the precinct in which he or she offers to vote sixty days next preceding the election, shall be a voter in said precinct and not elsewhere. No person who is not a citizen of the United States shall be allowed to vote in this state. The following persons also shall not have the right to vote: 
  

• Persons convicted in any court of competent jurisdiction of treason, or felony, or bribery in an election, or of such high misdemeanor as the General Assembly may declare shall operate as an exclusion from the right of suffrage, but persons hereby excluded may be restored to their civil rights by executive pardon. 
  

• Persons who, at the time of the election, are in confinement under the judgment of a court for some penal offense. 
  

• Idiots and insane persons. 
  

• In simple terms this is a completely unnecessary act that aims to ban something that is already illegal in all 50 states. This aims to add to a document that is needlessly long, and, in several sections, the language is outdated and does not reflect the state’s current values. The original version limited voting rights only to white males aged 21 and over and while this amendment does not aim to take us back in time it aims to needlessly add to an already long document. According to the courier journal studies have shown that it is extremely rare for non-citizens and undocumented immigrants to vote in local, state, and federal elections. According to the Boone County, Ky Republican party page, there have been no reported cases of non-citizens voting in Kentucky elections. Even supporters of this proposed amendment are aware of the absence of this issue, yet still it is being pushed to a vote. Those who oppose this proposal see it simply as a tactic to energize the republican base during an election year. This proposal really does nothing to improve the state’s constitution and is a pointless ploy aimed at dividing the citizens of Kentucky.  
  

• Constitutional amendment 2: this amendment is aimed at allocating public funds for private schools so that private schools can operate the same manner as public schools. This proposed amendment aims to provide equal education opportunities for all students and families across the state of Kentucky by using public funds to preserve private schools. Here is what the proposed amendment will look like on the voter’s ballot:  
  

• To give parents choices in educational opportunities for their children, are you in favor of enabling the General Assembly to provide financial support for the education costs of students in kindergarten through 12th grade who are outside the system of common (public) schools by amending the Constitution of Kentucky as stated below? 
  

• This proposed amendment is aimed to provide public funding for private schools. Public schools are already low on funding in many areas of the state, and this would further reduce the limited access to the necessary resources they desperately need. One example that stands out to me is the Jefferson County School system (JCPS). For several consecutive years in a row now, the busing system has been severely under-staffed and in the first few weeks of school this year some districts were unable to get their students home before 6:00 pm. JCPS is one of the largest school systems in the state and they would suffer severe consequences with the passing of this amendment. Much of the public funds for schools around the state are allocated to providing free meals for kids with lower SES. Reducing the funds available for public schools limits access to several necessary resources for kids who have a challenging time accessing them. Supporters of this bill want to emphasize equal education opportunities for all students, but allocating public funds, which public schools rely on for their own students, to private schools will only worsen the conditions of many struggling public school systems across the state.  
  

 
References 
 
Horsley, McKenna. (2024) Amendment 1: ‘Proactive’ or a ploy to stir up anti-immigrant vote? 
https://kentuckylantern.com/2024/10/10/amendment-1-proactive-or-ploy-to-stir-up- anti-immigrant-vote-boost-the-other-amendment/ 
Adams, M. G. (2024). 2024 constitutional amendments. An Official Website of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. https://www.sos.ky.gov/elections/Pages/2024-Constitutional-Amendments.aspx 
Collins, Emma. (2024). Kentucky’s Proposed Amendment 2: Bad for Taxpayers, Bad for Kentucky. https://www.kentuckylawjournal.org/blog/kentuckys-proposed-amendment-2-bad-for-students-bad-for-taxpayers-bad-for-kentucky 
Pinski, H. (2024, October 9). Kentucky ballot measures. Courier Journal. https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/09/13/kentucky-ballot-measures/74231405007/ 
Vanderhoff, M. (2024, September 16). Get the facts: New ad campaign urges Kentucky voters to approve Amendment 1. WLKY. https://www.wlky.com/article/ad-campaign-kentucky-voters-approve-amendment-1/62177936 
 
 
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