Ever since it want on this fall’s ballot, we’ve been hearing about Amendment 2, the proposed amendment to the Kentucky Constitution that would allow the legislature to give public school money to private and religious schools. (And BTW – VOTE NO on Amendment 2!)
But have you heard much at all about Amendment 1? That’s the amendment that would add a change to our constitution to say that non-citizens cannot vote. Guess what – they already can’t.
If you haven’t heard about it, don’t feel bad. Most people haven’t. In fact, if you asked 10 people what it was about, 9 of them couldn’t tell you.
And anyone who DID know its subject matter would probably follow up by saying “I have no reason why it is even on the ballot. It’s a stupid amendment.”
Well, I’ve been giving that some thought, and I think there are two possible reasons the Repubs wanted it on the ballot.
And one of those reasons isn’t because the Repubs thought we had a big problem with non-citizens voting. Repubs in power may be many things, including many bad things, but “stupid” isn’t one of them. They know the amendment is not needed. So why did they make it one of their priority bills?
Reason #1 – To campaign on it this fall
You can just see the mailers, can’t you? “We’ve got to keep those scary brown people from voting!" Never mind that any reasonably-aware person knows that non-citizens can’t vote. Fear-mongering about immigrants fits right into the MAGA playbook, and into their campaign plans.
Getting their base riled up about “illegals” (I hate that word) voting is one way to get people to the polls. Throw in some “liberals” and “open borders” talk, and you’re checking the boxes in the Repub Campaign Playbook.
Most of the time, I would assume this is the real reason. Many of the priority bills the Repubs pass in Frankfort are aimed at talking points for the upcoming election. I thought this bill was cut from the same cloth.
But over the last few weeks, another reason has come into focus – one with a national reach. And frankly, I think this is the real reason.
Reason #2 – To be used in a nationwide disinformation campaign
Did you know that multiple states have passed bills on this same subject in the past year? And that another multiple states have similar bills on their ballots this fall?
Did you know that House Speaker Mike Johnson is willing to let the entire federal government shutdown, just to get his bill passed that requires proof of citizenship to vote?
And have you heard Donald Trump talk about the Democrats using “illegals” (I hate that word) to vote in order to “steal” the election from him this fall?
So, what if our dear Repub friends in Frankfort put this unnecessary amendment on the ballot as part of a larger Republican plan to blame their losses on voting by non-citizens, and to spread that disinformation after the election?
What if the entire purpose is to plant that seed in the minds of the people, that non-citizen voting is a real problem, and therefore challenges and lawsuits are necessary and appropriate, and the election results can’t be trusted?
Never mind whether the amendment passes or fails. It’s putting it into the discussion, and into people’s thinking, that matters.
Did the Repubs in Frankfort get a directive from either the RNC or the Trump campaign to make this a priority? I don’t know – I’m certainly not privy to those communications. Nor have I heard any rumors to that effect.
It just strikes me that when there were other constitutional amendments that I think they cared about more, that this would be the one that became Amendment 1 on the ballot. (Over the charter-school-funding amendment.)
I think, if Trump loses, that we are going to be hearing a lot about those “illegals” (I hate that word) stealing the election from its rightful winner, The Former Guy. And this amendment, and others like it, are going to be part of that talk.
Just remember – you heard it here first. 😉
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