KY Republicans push ban on non-citizen voting, though no cities allow it

A bill aimed at stopping non-U.S. citizens from voting — a practice that does not currently happen in Kentucky — is advancing in the 2024 General Assembly.

House Bill 341 from Rep. Michael Meredith, R-Oakland, proposes amending the state constitution to add that “no person who is not a citizen of the United States shall be allowed to vote in this state.”

“We’re seeking to be proactive with this amendment because what we have seen in other states is that local governments have, in some cases, changed their local charters under similar constitutional language in those states to allow non-citizens to vote in the elections in their jurisdictions,” Meredith said on the House floor Tuesday.

“We seek to get ahead of this before this does happen, potentially, in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.”

The House passed Meredith’s bill 81-15, largely along party lines, with several Democrats expressing frustrations that there are more pressing issues to deal with as lawmakers.

Rep. Keturah Herron, D-Louisville, said if lawmakers want to change the constitution as it relates to voting, they should look at restoring the rights of people with past felony convictions.

Herron said she is concerned with how the legislature is using “our resources, time and money on changing the constitution on something that could potentially be an issue, but currently is not.

“We have an issue with our constitution as it relates to voting that Kentuckians have been asking for.”

As section 145 of the constitution — the section outlining “persons entitled to vote” — currently reads, “every citizen of the United States of the age of eighteen years who has resided in the state one year” is eligible to vote except for:

• Anyone convicted of “of treason, or felony, or bribery in an election, or of such high misdemeanor as the General Assembly” unless they’ve received an executive pardon.

• People “in confinement under the judgment of a court for some penal offense” at the time of the election.

• “Idiots and insane persons” — or in modern parlance, a person who has been found mentally incompetent in court and had their voting rights stripped.

Michon Lindstrom, spokesperson for Secretary of State Michael Adams’ office, said elections officials are not aware of an incidents in recent years in which non-citizens have voted.

Additionally, non-citizens are not eligible to register to vote in Kentucky, and there are no municipalities that have expanded local election participation to non-citizens, she said.

Josh Douglas, a law professor at the University of Kentucky specializing in election law, said the language of the amendment would have “zero impact, zero change whatsoever” on Kentucky, as no local governments allow non-citizens to vote or have expressed interest in expanding voting.

“The constitution, like most other state constitutions, says that ‘every citizen shall be qualified to vote’ in state and local elections, so that language is permissive,” Douglas said. “’Every citizen shall be,’ which some states have understood to mean that that is a floor, not a ceiling.

“Those who are eligible include every citizen, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that localities cannot allow non-citizens,” he said.

Douglas said some cities in California and Maryland have expanded voting in local elections to non-citizens or lowered the voting age to 16.

Voters in other states, including neighboring Ohio in 2022, have approved language similar to that of Meredith’s proposed amendment. In Georgia, Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has recently renewed his push for a similar constitutional amendment.

Federal law prohibits non-citizens from voting in federal contests, such as congressional races and presidential elections.

Constitutional amendments in Kentucky require approval from three-fifths of members in both the House and Senate before they’re eligible for the statewide ballot. Before the constitution is changed, the amendment language also would need to be approved by the majority of Kentucky voters in November.

Several constitutional amendments are have been filed by Kentucky lawmakers during the 2024 General Assembly so far, including a ‘school choice’ amendment that would allow for state money to help fund enrollment at private and charter schools and plan to change gubernatorial election years to coincide with presidential elections.

Senate OKs changes to voter ID law

Discussion in the Senate Tuesday also focused on voter issues.

Senate Bill 80 from Sen. Adrienne Southworth, R-Lawrenceburg, would make identification cards from colleges and universities a “secondary” proof of identification for the purposes of voting.

Southworth’s bill would still allow Kentuckians with only a college ID to vote; however, those voters would have to affirm various aspects of their identity and sign a precinct signature roster.

The bill passed 27-7, with all seven Senate Democrats voting no and all present Republicans voting yes.

Sen. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, expressed worry that legislators were sending the wrong message to young, college-age voters by passing the bill. She also brought up the fact that Adams, the state’s top elections administrator, is against the bill.

Adams has said he’s concerned if the passes, it could leave the law vulnerable to legal challenges.

“I’m very proud of the work he’s done and he is our chief elections officer,” Webb said. “We have deferred that duty to him and he’s done it admirably. The people of Kentucky have spoken as to how he has done that job.”

The bill would also remove credit or debit cards from the list of “secondary” identification documents a voter is able to provide to vote.

Politics reporter Austin Horn contributed to this story.