Rep. Michael Meredith, R-Oakland, wants voters to preclude Kentucky cities from allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections. (LRC Public Information)
FRANKFORT — A Republican-backed bill passed Tuesday by the Kentucky House of Representatives would ask voters to approve a constitutional amendment barring people who aren’t U.S. citizens from voting in state and local elections, something that Kentucky’s chief elections official says doesn’t happen.
House Bill 341 sponsor, Rep. Michael Meredith, R-Oakland, described the bill as “simple” legislation that would close a “potential loophole.”
The bill passed 81-15 on a largely part line vote.
“Voting rights in this state specifically and really in this nation should be reserved for citizens,” Meredith said. “That doesn’t say that anybody can’t go through the path to citizenship and gain those rights over time, and I’m certainly a proponent of that. However, I think most people believe that our elections should be controlled by citizens of this nation and not others.”