LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Lawmakers in Frankfort want to amend Kentucky's constitution to stop noncitizens from voting.
The full Senate passed the proposal Monday afternoon, and put it one step closer to appearing on the November ballot.
The bill proposed amending the Constitution to explicitly say people who are not citizens are not allowed to vote in Kentucky.
"There are people that are concerned that this is basically a bit of a dog whistle, that we're just putting something out there that may imply that people who aren't allowed to vote are voting and we have to stop it," Sen. Karen Berg, D-Louisville, said. "So I'm like, maybe I should vote no. But the truth is, I'm going to vote yes because we get four spaces for constitutional amendments and as far as I'm concerned, this is probably the least offensive constitutional amendment we could put on the ballot."
Sen. David Yates, D-Louisville, was one of four senators who voted against it.
The democrat said they're focusing on something that isn't a problem.
"The secretary of state, the board of elections, have all come out and said, this is not necessary," Yates said. "I believe putting a constitutional amendment on the books is a very important process. I don't believe it should be more of a political or partisan or anything other, something we feel is so strongly needed to change the constitution of Kentucky that it better at least find an issue in which we've got a problem."
The bill now goes to the House for consideration. State representatives have already passed their own similar proposal.
According to USA.gov, an official website for the government, noncitizens cannot vote in federal or state elections. However, while they are not allowed to vote in federal elections, some are allowed to vote in local elections depending on where they live.
Noncitizens cannot be registered to vote in Kentucky as they do not qualify to register according to the state's website.
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