(LEX 18) — This November, there will be two constitutional amendments on the ballot for voters to decide. Amendment 2, the school choice measure, has received a lot of attention. But there has been little conversation surrounding the other one - Amendment 1, a citizenship requirement measure.
However, those for and against the amendment are starting to speak up.
On Monday, several Kentucky organizations urged voters to vote no on Amendment 1.
"We see this ballot measure as an effort by some politicians to spread lies about immigrants and voting," the Forward Justice Action Network said in a press release. "It is voter intimidation and voter suppression, and we won't stand for it."
If voters agree to Amendment 1, the state's constitution will be changed to say that "no person who is not a citizen of the United States shall be allowed to vote" in Kentucky's elections.
According to state election officials, there is no evidence showing that non-citizens are voting in Kentucky. To vote in Kentucky elections, a registered voter must be a U.S. citizen that has lived in Kentucky for at least 28 days before Election Day. Federal law also makes it a criminal offense for a non-citizen to vote in a presidential election.
So, those against the change believe it's a solution in search of a problem.
"There's no need for it, so the language is unnecessary and it's trying to follow a trend that does not apply to Kentucky," said Shameka Parrish-Wright, the executive director of VOCAL-KY.
"We know that only eligible people are voting in Kentucky elections," added Attica Scott with the Forward Justice Action Network. "You actually have to register to vote in Kentucky. Our own Secretary of State has testified that there are no incidences of immigrant voting fraud."
However, supporters of Amendment 1 worry that local cities may allow non-citizens to vote in local races, like those for school boards, in the future. In a September press conference, supporters told LEX 18 that they're trying to take preventive action.
“We don’t want illegal immigrants or non-citizens voting in Kentucky elections, like they have in some other states," said Rep. Michael Meredith, who sponsored the amendment in the Kentucky House this year. "Not in state elections, not in federal elections, but they’re doing it at the local level. Voting in local elections. They’re voting in school board elections.”
Meredith points to cities like San Francisco as evidence that other parts of the country are allowing non-citizens to vote in school board elections. He believes that all voting should be reserved for citizens.
"Citizens should be making the decisions about how the government is handled," said Meredith. "If you want to become a citizen, there’s a pathway to that.”
“What’s more important than the sanctity of our elections in the United States - very little," he later added. "It’s the foundation of our democracy.”
But those against the change say while they don't support non-citizens voting, they don't like the amendment because they believe it'll lead to more division.
"The reality is that voting no on [Amendment] 1 isn't an approval of non-citizen voting. It is a disapproval of the divisive language that Amendment 1 brings to the floor."
"It singles out immigrant communities, casting them as potential threats to our election integrity," added Rep. Nima Kulkarni. "Newly naturalized citizens, who have legally earned the right to vote, will feel intimidated or face greater scrutiny at polling locations simply because of how they look or where they come from."
Kulkarni, a naturalized citizen, said as the "first foreign-born immigrant elected to the Kentucky legislature, this issue is of very great importance to me personally."
"It is imperative that we make sure that our new Americans, our neighbors, our foreign-born communities feel part of our Commonwealth and a part of our country," she added.
Kulkarni believes Amendment 1 "singles out immigrant communities, casting them as potential threats to our election integrity."
"Newly naturalized citizens, who have legally earned the right to vote, will feel intimidated or face greater scrutiny at polling locations simply because of how they look or where they come from."
"It's part of the larger narrative that millions of illegal immigrants are just invading this country in order to vote. That's the larger narrative and that's the fear-mongering that's happening."
