Elections
Bill to limit governor pardons, commutations around elections passes Senate committee?
FRANKFORT —?A bill that would limit Kentucky governors’ power to issue pardons or commute sentences was approved by the Senate State and Local Government Committee Wednesday.? Senate Bill 126 proposes a constitutional amendment to suspend the governor’s power to issue pardons or sentence commutations from 30 days before a gubernatorial election until the fifth Tuesday […]
Kentucky Senate votes to bar college ID as a primary form of voter identification
FRANKFORT — Kentuckians could no longer use university-issued identification cards as their primary voter ID under a bill that cleared the Republican-controlled Senate Tuesday along party lines.? Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams decried the legislation, Senate Bill 80, in a Tuesday interview with the Kentucky Lantern ahead of the Senate vote. Looking to the […]
House-approved bill asks voters to make clear: Noncitizens can’t vote in Kentucky
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 […]
College photo IDs would no longer suffice to vote in Kentucky under bill moving in Senate
FRANKFORT — A bill that would block Kentuckians from using university-issued IDs to vote has passed out of a Senate committee, prompting the Republican secretary of state to warn members of his party to “be careful not to gratuitously alienate young voters.”? Identification cards issued by universities and colleges to students and employees would no […]
Effort to move Kentucky’s statewide elections to presidential years moves forward in legislature
FRANKFORT — The Senate passed legislation Wednesday that moves the state a step closer to holding its elections during presidential election years. Senate Bill 10 proposes a constitutional amendment allowing Kentucky elections for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and other constitutional officers, in even-numbered years. Senators voted 26-9, with Republican Sens. Adrienne Southworth, of Lawrenceburg, […]
Louisville’s Herron announces run for state Senate
State Rep. Keturah Herron, a Louisville Democrat, filed Tuesday to run for election to the Kentucky Senate in 2024.? Herron will seek the seat of Sen. Denise Harper Angel, another Louisville Democrat who recently announced she will not seek reelection in 2024 after representing Senate District 35 since 2005.? Herron said in a statement about […]
Ahead of filing deadline, candidates sign election paperwork to run for office
FRANKFORT — Kentucky’s candidate filing deadline is next month.? So far, many have already signed papers seeking the Kentucky General Assembly and U.S. Congress. To appear on the primary election ballot, candidates must register by Jan. 5, 2024.? Next year, Kentucky voters will decide who will represent them in Frankfort and Washington D.C. and in […]
Kentucky Supreme Court affirms voting districts in gerrymandering challenge
Kentucky’s recently redrawn congressional and legislative districts? will stand for future elections.? In an opinion published Thursday morning, the Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate’s previous decision that the maps were a result of? “partisan gerrymanders” but did not find them unconstitutional.? “Regardless of how unusual or eye-raising it may be, we […]
Beshear’s inauguration is next week. Here’s the schedule.
Last month, voters gave Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman a second term. Next week, they’ll be inaugurated again at the State Capitol in Frankfort.? The 62nd inauguration on Tuesday, Dec. 12, will feature Kentuckians to celebrate a theme of “Forward, Together.” The festivities include an inaugural ball, a parade, performances and […]
States that send a mail ballot to every voter really do increase turnout, scholars find
Lately, a rough consensus has emerged among people who study the impact of voting policies: Though they often spark fierce partisan fighting, most changes to voting laws do little to affect overall turnout, much less election results. But one fast-growing reform appears to stand out as an exception. When every registered voter gets sent a […]
Kentucky Supreme Court must weigh constitutionality of partisan gerrymanders
FRANKFORT — The Kentucky Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday about whether Republican-drawn U.S. and Kentucky House districts are gerrymandered and if that matters under the state constitution.? Kentucky Democrats filed the lawsuit after the Republican supermajority in the General Assembly adopted the maps last year. Attorneys for the Democrats and the Commonwealth of Kentucky argued […]
On Democracy Day, newsrooms unite for pro-democracy coverage
It’s no secret: U.S. democracy is under serious threat. Politicians use rigged maps?to entrench themselves in power, allowing them to ignore the will of voters. Hundreds of members of Congress, state lawmakers, and top state officials — including chief elections officials —?deny the results?of the last presidential contest. And a leading candidate for 2024 talks […]