Kentucky Constitutional Amendment 2, Terms of Judicial Offices Amendment (2020)

Kentucky Constitutional Amendment 2
Election date November 3, 2020
Topic Elections and campaigns
Status d Defeated
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature
List of Kentucky measuresConstitutional Amendment 1Constitutional Amendment 2Submit

Kentucky Constitutional Amendment 2, the Terms of Judicial Offices Amendment was on the ballot in Kentucky as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 3, 2020. It was defeated.

A "yes" vote supported amending the Kentucky Constitution to make the following changes: increase the office terms of commonwealth's attorneys from six years to eight years starting in 2030; increase the office terms of district judges from four years to eight years starting in 2022; and change attorney licensing requirements for district judges from two years to eight years beginning in 2022.

A "no" vote opposed amending the Kentucky Constitution to increase the term limits of commonwealth's attorneys and district judges and to change licensing requirements for district judges.

Election results

Kentucky Constitutional Amendment 2
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		574,585	30.99%
No		1,279,394	69.01%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What would have Constitutional Amendment 2 changed about Kentucky judicial officer terms?

See also: Text of measure

Constitutional Amendment 2 would have increased the term of commonwealth's attorneys from six to eight years beginning in 2030 and would have increased the term of district court judges from four to eight years beginning in 2022. It would have also required district judges to have at least eight years of legal experience. At the time of the election, the requirement for district judges was two years.

Who supported and opposed Constitutional Amendment 2?

See also: Support and Opposition

Constitutional Amendment 2 was sponsored by Republican Representatives Jason Nemes, Derek Lewis, C. Ed Massey, and Speaker David Osborne. Rep. Nemes said, "If we have the commonwealth’s attorneys at six years, and the circuit judges at eight-year terms, it makes re-circuiting very difficult. [The amendment] would align the district judges’ terms with all the other judges." In regards to the increase in experience for district judges, Rep. Nemes said, "This would increase the qualifications and the professionalism of the judiciary." District Judges for a Better Commonwealth led the campaign in support of Constitutional Amendment 2.

Fourteen Republican legislators voted against the bill, seven did not vote, and 16 Democratic legislators did not vote. Senator Wil Schroder (R), who voted against the bill, said he supported increasing the legal experience requirement for district judges, but "that eight-year terms are really long for any judge … and for any elected official in Kentucky."

Text of the measure

Ballot question

The following ballot question appeared with the complete text of the amendment:

“

Are you in favor of changing the term of Commonwealth's Attorneys from six-year terms to eight-year terms beginning in 2030, changing the terms of judges of the district court from four-year terms to eight-year terms beginning in 2022, and requiring district judges to have been licensed attorneys for at least eight years beginning in 2022, by amending the Constitution of Kentucky to read as stated below?

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Kentucky Constitution

The measure would have amended sections 97, 119, and 122 of the Kentucky Constitution.

The following underlined text would have been added, and struck-through text would have been deleted: Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.

Text of Section 97:

In the year two thousand, and every six years thereafter, there shall be an election in each county for a Circuit Court Clerk, and, until the year two thousand thirty, for a Commonwealth's Attorney, in each circuit court district, unless that office be abolished, who shall hold their respective offices for six years from the first Monday in January after their election, and until the election and qualification of their successors. Beginning in the year two thousand thirty, and every eight years thereafter, there shall be an election for a Commonwealth's Attorney in each circuit court district, unless that office be abolished, who shall hold his or her office for eight years from the first Monday in January after his or her election, and until the election and qualification of his or her successor.

Text of Section 119:

Justices of the Supreme Court and judges of the Court of Appeals and Circuit Court shall severally hold their offices for terms of eight years, and until the year two thousand twenty-two, judges of the District Court for terms of four years. Beginning in the year two thousand twenty-two, judges of the district court shall hold their offices for terms of eight years. All terms commence on the first Monday in January next succeeding the regular election for the office. No justice or judge may be deprived of his term of office by redistricting, or by a reduction in the number of justices or judges.

Text of Section 122:

To be eligible to serve as a justice of the Supreme Court or a judge of the Court of Appeals, Circuit Court or District Court a person must be a citizen of the United States, licensed to practice law in the courts of this Commonwealth, and have been a resident of this Commonwealth and of the district from which he or she is elected for two years next preceding his or her taking office. In addition, to be eligible to serve as a justice of the Supreme Court or judge of the Court of Appeals or Circuit Court a person must have been a licensed attorney for at least eight years. Beginning in the year two thousand twenty-two, no district judge shall serve who has not been a licensed attorney for at least eight two years.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2020

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The state legislature wrote the ballot language for this measure. The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 28, and the FRE is 15. The word count for the ballot title is 67, and the estimated reading time is 17 seconds.

Support

District Judges for a Better Commonwealth led the campaign in support of Yes on Constitutional Amendment 2.

Supporters

Officials

• State Senator Robin Webb (R)
• Kentucky State Senator Whitney Westerfield (R)
• State Representative Derek Lewis (R)
• State Representative C. Ed Massey (R)
• State Representative Chad McCoy (R)
• State Representative Jason Michael Nemes (R)
• State Representative David Osborne (R)

Unions

• Kentucky Commonwealth’s Attorneys Association
• Kentucky District Judges Association
• Louisville Bar Association

Arguments

• Kentucky State Representative Jason Nemes (R): "[House Bill 405] does two things. First, it requires more than two years of experience as an attorney to be a judge. Experience matters, and an attorney fresh out of law school is not ready to be a judge. Second, many judges in our state have far too many cases while other judges in other jurisdictions have far too few cases. Aligning the prosecutors’ terms with the judges’ terms will make it easier to recircuit our courts to better balance our judicial resources."
• Kentucky State Senator Robin Webb (D): In response to the argument that a longer term means less accountability, Webb said, "If you have a judge during that potentially eight-year term act egregiously or illegally or unethically, there’s a remedy outside of an election."
• The Officers and Executive Committee of the Kentucky District Judges Association and District Judges for a Better Commonwealth: "At a time when district judges face more and more responsibility and handle important issues like domestic violence, mental illness, and addiction, Constitutional Amendment 2 will benefit Kentuckians by 'raising the bar' for candidates to the district court bench. Our district judges must be prepared to handle a broad range of criminal and civil proceedings, including matters involving our most vulnerable citizens in juvenile, guardianship and mental health cases."

Opposition

Ballotpedia did not identify any committees opposing the amendment. If you are aware of any opponents or opposing arguments, please send an email with a link to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Opponents

Officials

• State Senator Chris McDaniel (R)
• State Senator John Schickel (R)

Arguments

• Kentucky State Senator Chris McDaniel (R): McDaniel argued that lengthening the terms of judicial offices promotes the "idea of less accountability for constitutional officers.
• State Sen. John Schickel (R-Union): "It would double the terms of District judges from four years to eight and extend commonwealth's attorneys from six to eight. This self-serving constitutional amendment lobbied for by District judges gives less accountability to the public when we need more."

Campaign finance

The campaign finance information on this page reflects the most recent scheduled reports that Ballotpedia has processed, which covered through December 3, 2020.

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Idaho ballot measures

There was one political issue committee—District Judges for a Better Commonwealth—registered in support of Constitutional Amendment 2. The committee reported $15,000 in contributions.

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$15,000.00	$0.00	$15,000.00	$25,342.68	$25,342.68
Oppose	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Total	$15,000.00	$0.00	$15,000.00	$25,342.68	$25,342.68

Support

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committee in support of Constitutional Amendment 2:

Committees in support of Constitutional Amendment 2
Committee	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
District Judges for a Better Commonwealth	$15,000.00	$0.00	$15,000.00	$25,342.68	$25,342.68
Total	$15,000.00	$0.00	$15,000.00	$25,342.68	$25,342.68

Top donors

The following chart lists the top donors to the campaign in support of Constitutional Amendment 2:

Donor	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions
Kentucky District Judges Association	$10,000.00	$0.00	$10,000.00
Jennifer Leibson	$500.00	$0.00	$500.00
Kim Shumate	$250.00	$0.00	$250.00
Linda Bullock	$250.00	$0.00	$250.00

Opposition

Ballotpedia did not identify any committees registered in opposition to the amendment.

Methodology

To read Ballotpedia's methodology for covering ballot measure campaign finance information, click here.

Media editorials

See also: 2020 ballot measure media endorsements

Ballotpedia identified the following media editorial boards as taking positions on the ballot measure. If you are aware of a media editorial board position that is not listed below, please email the editorial link to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Support

Ballotpedia had not identified media editorial boards in support of the ballot measure.

Opposition

• Herald Leader Editorial Board: "The second constitutional amendment is to extend district court judges from four to eight-year terms, the same as circuit, family and appellate court judges. In addition, the new statute would require district judges to have eight years of experience as attorneys, up from two years. Supporters argue that district judges now see so many cases that they need more legal experience. The amendment would also lengthen the terms of Commonwealth Attorneys from six to eight years. Shockingly, we agree with conservative Republican House member John Schickel of Northern Kentucky, which has seen some judicial scandals recently. There is no reason that judges should serve longer than any other elected official. Instead of lengthening the terms of one set of lawyers, they should all be elected for four to ensure proper accountability.Vote no on both constitutional amendments found on the back of your ballots."

Background

Kentucky Circuit Courts and commonwealth attorneys

At the time of the election,Kentucky had 57 circuit courts and 95 circuit judges. Each court represented one to four counties. Each circuit court elected a commonwealth attorney for a six-year term. A commonwealth attorney is an elected public prosecutor. The Kentucky Circuit Courts have jurisdiction over capital offenses, felonies, land disputes, contested probates of wills, and general civil litigation in disputes involving more than $4,000. They can also hear appeals from district courts and administrative agencies.

Kentucky District Courts

Kentucky District Courts are trial courts of limited jurisdiction in Kentucky. Matters heard by the district courts include city and county ordinance violations, juvenile matters, traffic offenses, misdemeanors, probate, preliminary felony hearings, small claims, and civil cases involving $4,000 or less. Along with the family courts, the district courts hear cases of domestic violence. Appeals may be heard by the Kentucky Circuit Courts.

At the time of the election, there were 60 judicial districts in Kentucky, served by 116 judges. These judges were chosen in nonpartisan elections and served four-year terms. In the event of midterm vacancies, the governor may appoint a replacement from a list of candidates recommended by the Kentucky Judicial Nominating Commission.

Aligning elections

Kentucky voters elected commonwealth attorneys in 2014. The next election for six-year term offices was 2022. Beginning in 2030, the term of commonwealth attorneys would have been extended to eight years. At the time of the election, voters elect district court judges every four years in nonpartisan elections. Beginning in 2022, the terms of district court judges would have been extended to eight years. The change in term lengths would have meant that commonwealth attorneys and district court judges would have appeared on the ballot together beginning in 2030.

Caseload statistics

The Kentucky Court of Justice published caseload statistics for the 2018 calendar year for Kentucky's Circuit and District Courts. Kentucky Circuit Court 55, which serves Bullitt County, had the highest number of cases per judge with 1,466. Kentucky Circuit Court 31, which serves Floyd County, had the lowest number of cases per judge with 387. The average case per judge for all 57 circuit courts was 967. The map below illustrates the number of case filings in Kentucky Circuit Courts by county. Scroll over the county for the exact case count.

Kentucky District Court 22, which serves Fayette County, had the highest number of cases per judge with 10,065. Kentucky District Court 59, which serves Ballard and Carlisle Counties, had the lowest number of cases per judge with 1,236. The average case per judge for all 60 district courts was 5,515. The map below illustrates the number of case filings in Kentucky District Courts by county. Scroll over the county for the exact case count.

Election policy on the ballot in 2020

In 2020, voters in 14 states voted on 18 ballot measures addressing election-related policies. One of the measures addressed campaign finance, one were related to election dates, five addressed election systems, three addressed redistricting, five addressed suffrage, and three addressed term limits.

Click Show to read details about the election-related measures on statewide ballots in 2020.

Election-related policy ballot measures in 2020

Campaign finance See also: Campaign finance on the ballot a Oregon Measure 107: Measure 107 authorizes the state legislature and local governments to (1) enact laws or ordinances limiting campaign contributions and expenditures; (2) require disclosure of contributions and expenditures; and (3) require that political advertisements identify the people or entities that paid for them. Going into the election, Oregon was one of five states with no limits on campaign contributions. Election dates a New Mexico Constitutional Amendment 2: The amendment allowed the state legislature to pass laws adjusting the election dates of state or county officeholders and adjusting office terms according to those date changes. Under the measure, laws proposing adjustments to election dates of non-statewide officeholders must be supported by a legislative finding that such a change would promote consistency or that it would evenly distribute the number of offices appearing on the ballot. Election systems a Alaska Ballot Measure 2: Ballot Measure 2 replaced the state's partisan primaries with open top-four primaries for state executive, state legislative, and congressional offices and established ranked-choice voting for general elections, including the presidential election, in which voters would rank the candidates. Ballot Measure 2 also required persons and entities that contribute more than $2,000 that were themselves derived from donations, contributions, dues, or gifts to disclose the true sources, as defined in the law, of the political contributions. Colorado Proposition 113: In 2019, the Colorado State Legislature passed a bill to add Colorado to the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC). NPVIC member states have agreed to give the state’s electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote, provided the NPVIC goes into effect. The NPVIC was designed to go into effect if states representing at least 270 electoral votes join the NPVIC. The campaign Protect Colorado's Vote filed a veto referendum to overturn the law, which resulted in Proposition 113. On November 3, voters upheld the law and voted in favor of adding Colorado to the NPVIC. d Florida Amendment 3: Amendment 3 would have replaced Florida's closed primaries with top-two open primaries for elected state offices. Under Amendment 3, all candidates would have run in the same primary election. The top-two candidates, regardless of their partisan affiliation, would have moved on to the general election under Amendment 3. d Massachusetts Question 2: Question 2 would have enacted ranked-choice voting (RCV) for primary and general elections for state executive officials, state legislators, federal congressional representatives, and certain county offices. As of 2020, statewide elections in Massachusetts used a plurality voting system. a Mississippi Ballot Measure 2: As of 2020, Mississippi required that a candidate for governor or elected state office receive the most votes in a majority of the state's 122 state House of Representatives districts (known as the electoral vote requirement). Ballot Measure 2 repealed this requirement. Instead, Ballot Measure 2 provided that a candidate for governor or state office must receive a majority vote to win and that a runoff election would be held between the two highest vote-getters in the event that no candidate receives a majority vote. Redistricting See also: Redistricting measures on the ballot a Missouri Amendment 3: In 2018, Missouri voters approved Amendment 1, the Lobbying, Campaign Finance, and Redistricting Initiative, which created the nonpartisan state demographer responsible for state legislative redistricting. Amendment 3 repealed the nonpartisan state demographer and returned the state to the use of bipartisan redistricting commissions, with changes to the number and selection of commissioners. The 2020 amendment also maintained the criteria of competitiveness and partisan fairness that was enacted in 2018, but it loosened the partisan fairness requirement and required that population, voter rights abridgment, contiguous districts, simple shapes, and the rules for counties be considered with a higher priority. a New Jersey Public Question 3: As of 2020, the New Jersey Constitution required the state legislative redistricting commission to pass a redistricting plan within a month of receiving the official census data. Question 3 postponed state legislative redistricting until after the election on November 2, 2021, should the state receive federal census data after February 15, 2021. The U.S. Census Bureau asked Congress to extend the deadline to deliver census data from April 1, 2021, to July 31, 2021, due to delays related to the coronavirus pandemic. a Virginia Question 1: Question 1 transferred the power to draw the state's congressional and legislative districts from the state legislature to a redistricting commission composed of state legislators and citizens. Going into 2020, the Virginia General Assembly was responsible for drawing the state's congressional and state legislative district boundaries. The redistricting plans were passed as legislation and subject to the governor's veto power. Suffrage See also: Suffrage on the ballot a Alabama Amendment 1: Amendment 1 amended the Alabama Constitution to state that "only a citizen of the United States," rather than "every citizen of the United States," who is 18 years old or older has the right to vote in Alabama. a California Proposition 17: Proposition 17 amended the state constitution to allow people with felonies who are on parole to vote; therefore, the ballot measure kept imprisonment as a disqualification for voting but removed parole status. Going into 2020, the California Constitution disqualified people with felonies from voting until the completion of their imprisonment and parole. d California Proposition 18: Proposition 18 would have allowed 17-year-olds who will be 18 at the time of the next general election to vote in primary elections and special elections. a Colorado Amendment 76: Amendment 76 amended the Colorado Constitution to state that “only a citizen”, instead of "every citizen", of the U.S. who is 18 years of age or older can vote in Colorado. Under the Colorado Votes Act, which went into effect in August 2019, individuals who are 17 years of age at the time of a primary election but who will be 18 years of age at the time of a general election were allowed to register to vote and vote in the primary election. According to the Colorado Blue Book, prevents 17-year-olds from voting. a Florida Amendment 1: Amendment 1 amended the Florida Constitution to state that “only a citizen” of the U.S. who is 18 years old or older can vote in Florida instead of saying that "every citizen" of the U.S. who is 18 years old or older can vote in Florida. Term limits and term lengths See also: Term limits on the ballot a Arkansas Issue 2: Issue 2 changed term limits of state legislators to twelve consecutive years with the opportunity to return after a four-year break. The 12-year limit applied to anyone elected in 2021 or after. Going into 2020, Arkansas legislators could serve up to 16 years throughout their lifetimes in the House or Senate. d Kentucky Constitutional Amendment 2: The amendment would have increased the office terms of commonwealth's attorneys from six years to eight years starting in 2030; increased the office terms of district judges from four years to eight years starting in 2022; and changed attorney licensing requirements for district judges from two years to eight years beginning in 2022. d Missouri Amendment 1: Amendment 1 would have limited the lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state auditor, and attorney general to two terms of office in a lifetime. Going into 2020, the state constitution limited the governor and state treasurer to two terms of office in a lifetime but not the other executive offices.

Referred amendments on the ballot

The Kentucky State Legislature can refer statewide ballot measures, in the form of constitutional amendments, to the general election ballot in even-numbered years. Kentucky requires a 60 percent vote in each legislative chamber during one legislative session to refer a constitutional amendment to the ballot. Between 2006 and 2019, Kentucky voters approved the two legislatively referred constitutional amendments that appeared on statewide ballots.

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Kentucky Constitution

To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before voters, a 60 percent vote is required in both the Kentucky State Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives.

Constitutional Amendment 2 was introduced as House Bill 405 (HB 405) on February 10, 2020. On March 18, 2020, the state House passed HB 405 in a vote of 76-7, with 17 not voting. Of the 62 Republicans in the House, 50 voted in favor of HB 405, seven voted against it, and five did not vote. Of the 38 Democrats, 26 voted in favor of it, zero voted against it, and 12 did not vote.

On April 15, 2020, HB 405 passed the state Senate in a vote of 25-7, with six not voting. Of the 29 Republicans, 20 voted in favor of it, seven voted against it, and two did not vote. Of the nine Democrats, five voted in favor of it, and four did not vote.

Vote in the Kentucky House of Representatives March 18, 2020
Requirement: Three-fifths (60 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 60  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	76	7	17
Total percent	76.00%	7.00%	17.00%
Democrat	26	0	12
Republican	50	7	5

Vote in the Kentucky State Senate April 15, 2020
Requirement: Three-fifths (60 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 23  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	25	7	6
Total percent	65.79%	18.42%	15.79%
Democrat	5	0	4
Republican	20	7	2

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Kentucky

Click "Show" to learn more about voter registration, identification requirements, and poll times in Kentucky.

How to cast a vote in Kentucky

The information below covers regular voting policies in the state. Information may have not applied to the election on November 3, 2020, because of temporary changes in response to coronavirus. Click here to read about changes made for the 2020 elections. Poll times In Kentucky, all polls are open from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Central and Eastern Time. All those in line by 6:00 p.m. will be permitted to vote. Registration requirements Check your voter registration status here. According to the Kentucky State Board of Elections, in order to register to vote, a person must: “ Be a U.S. citizen and a Kentucky resident for at least 28 days before the election. Non-U.S. citizens, including U.S. nationals do not qualify; Be at least 18 years old by the next General Election; Kentucky law allows qualified individuals to register at 17 years of age and be able to participate in a Primary Election if the individual will be 18 years old by the General Election; Not be a convicted felon (or, if convicted of a felony, my right to vote has been restored following an expungement, Executive Pardon, or Executive Order; Not have been judged mentally incompetent in a court of law and have voting rights removed; Not claim the right to vote outside Kentucky. ” The deadline to submit a voter registration application is 29 days before an election, unless that day is a state or federal holiday. If mailed, applications must be postmarked by that deadline. Voter registration applications may be completed online, mailed to the county clerk's office, or submitted in person at the county clerk's office. Automatic registration Kentucky does not practice automatic voter registration. Online registration See also: Online voter registration Kentucky has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website. Same-day registration Kentucky does not allow same-day voter registration. Residency requirements Kentucky law requires 28 days of residency in the state before a person may vote. Verification of citizenship See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States Kentucky does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote. According to the state's voter registration application, "per KRS 119.025, any person who causes himself to be registered when he is not legally entitled to register, shall be subject to penalties including fines and/or a term of imprisonment not less than one (1) year nor more than (5) years." All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters. Verifying your registration The Voter Information Center site, run by the Kentucky State Board of Elections, allows residents to check their voter registration status online. Voter ID requirements

See also

2020 measures

• 2020 ballot measures
• Term limits on the ballot

Kentucky

• Kentucky ballot measures
• Kentucky ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Kentucky House Bill 405
• Kentucky 2020 Sample Ballot

Support

• Yes on Constitutional Amendment 2 campaign website
• Yes on Constitutional Amendment 2 Facebook page

Opposition

Submit links to editor@ballotpedia.org.