Two Republican state lawmakers are backing a proposed constitutional change to ensure non-U.S. citizens can’t vote in state and local school board elections.
Rep. Michael Meredith (R-Oakland) and Rep. Killian Timoney (R-Nicholasville) are the lead sponsors of House Bill 341 proposing the change. In a committee hearing on the bill Thursday, Meredith said the proposal would correct a “loophole” in the Kentucky constitution that specifies US citizens (who are Kentucky residents) are entitled to vote but does not specifically prohibit voting by noncitizens.
The proposal, approved by the House Elections, Constitutional Amendment, and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee, appears directed mostly at keeping non-U.S. citizens from voting in local school board elections.
Legislative approval from both the Senate and House would allow the proposed ballot measure to go before voters this fall.
Meredith did not cite any known instances of noncitizens voting in Kentucky’s school board or state elections before Thursday’s vote. But he did name two or three so-called “blue states” (California and Maryland specifically) that currently allow noncitizens to vote in local elections. As of 2023, the District of Columbia and local governments in California, Maryland and Vermont allow noncitizens in the state to vote in local elections, according to the political research site Ballotpedia.
The last amendment to Kentucky’s 1891 constitution governing who can vote in state elections happened in 1955, according to the constitution itself. As for school elections, those have been governed by Kentucky statute since 1891.
States control their own state and local elections. Currently, only four states – Arizona, Louisiana, North Dakota and Ohio – have a constitutional ban on non-US citizens voting in their elections.
Federal elections are strictly limited to U.S. citizens only. Noncitizens, including permanent legal residents, are prohibited from voting in federal elections under federal statute.
“I think the intent of the language when originally written (in our constitution) was just for citizens to vote,” Meredith told the committee about HB 341. “But this issue has been tested in other places around the country. This just cleans up what I consider a bit of a loophole.”
Meredith said it is “unclear” if the General Assembly or local governments could extend voting rights to non-US citizens in state elections, hence the proposal.
“Since noncitizens are not specifically excluded from any of the language it is arguable that the General Assembly or local governments could allow noncitizens to vote in our elections,” he said.
Louisville Democrat Rep. Keturah Herron asked Meredith in committee Thursday why the change needs to be in the constitution rather than statute, as directed by the constitution now.
“The way I read the constitution, it already says that noncitizens cannot vote. So I guess my question is why do we need this if it is geared toward local elections such as school boards, why wouldn’t we just put that in statute instead of a constitutional change?” Herron said.
According to Meredith, election “integrity” is more of a constitutional question.
“I think it is important because of election integrity for it to be enshrined in the constitution, and not a statutory issue,” he said.
HB 341 now goes to the full House for consideration. It must receive 60 votes in the House and 23 votes in the Senate to make it onto the statewide ballot in November.