(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.
If voters agree, 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.
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.
“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.”
The amendment received overwhelming GOP support. However, some Democrats said they weren't sure why this additional language was needed.
"I, too, would not want someone who's not a citizen of the United States to be voting in our elections," said Sen. David Yates when the bill was up for a vote in the Senate. "But that's not happening. And I don't think there's any fear of it happening since it's already in Kentucky's constitution."
However, supporters of the change believe while the citizenship requirement is implied in Kentucky's constitution, it's not directly stated that non-citizens cannot vote.
“Right now, it allows - the constitution allows - citizens to vote but it doesn’t require that all voters be citizens," said Sen. Jason Howell. "This amendment will close that loophole.”
