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.