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Kentucky State Executive Elections in Even-Numbered Years Amendment (2018)
| Kentucky State Executive Elections in Even-Numbered Years Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic Elections and campaigns and State executive official measures | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The Kentucky State Executive Elections in Even-Numbered Years Amendment was not on the ballot in Kentucky as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018.
The measure would have changed the election date for state executive officials from odd-numbered years to even-numbered presidential election years beginning in 2024.[1]
The following offices would have had elections moved from odd-numbered to even-numbered years: governor, lieutenant governor, treasurer, auditor of public accounts, attorney general, secretary of state, and commissioner of agriculture.[1]
Prior to 2018, the last election of state executive officials in Kentucky was November 3, 2015, and the next election was scheduled for November 5, 2019. The measure would have made the election on November 5, 2019, the last election of state executive officials to be held in an odd-numbered year. Officials elected in 2019 would have served a single five-year term until officials elected on November 5, 2024, were seated. The measure would have had elections held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in 2028, 2032, 2036, and every four years thereafter.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title would have been as follows:[1]
| “ | Are you in favor of holding the election of all statewide Constitutional officers in even-numbered years beginning in 2024 to save substantial state and local funds?[2] | ” |
Constitutional changes
The measure would have amended Section 95 of the Kentucky Constitution:[1]
(1) The election under this Constitution for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer, Auditor of Public Accounts, Attorney General, Secretary of State, and Commissioner of Agriculture, Labor and Statistics, shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 1895, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, and the same day every four years thereafter through the election in November 2019.
(2) Following the election in November 2019, the election under this Constitution for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer, Auditor of Public Accounts, Attorney General, Secretary of State, and Commissioner of Agriculture, Labor and Statistics, shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2024, and the same day every four years thereafter.[2]
Support
Supporters
Officials
The following officials sponsored the amendment in the state legislature:[3]
- Sen. Danny Carroll (R-2)
- Sen. Stephen Meredith (R-5)
- Sen. C.B. Embry Jr. (R-6)
- Sen. Joe Bowen (R-8)
- Sen. Rick Girdler (R-15)
- Sen. Damon Thayer (R-17)
- Sen. Paul Hornback (R-20)
- Sen. Christian McDaniel (R-23)
- Sen. Wil Schroder (R-24)
- Sen. Stephen West (R-27)
- Sen. Ralph Alvarado (R-28)
- Sen. Mike Wilson (R-32)
- Sen. Julie Raque Adams (R-36)
Arguments
- Sen. Christian McDaniel (R-23), a sponsor of the amendment, said, "We’re going to save money, simplify our elections process and increase voter participation. I can’t imagine anything more American than all that."[4]
Opposition
Arguments
- Sen. Ray Jones (D-31), who voted against the amendment in the state Senate, said, "It's not about saving the state money. What this is really about is putting Kentucky into the presidential election cycle in hopes of the GOP gaining an advantage. ... The last thing we need is a nationalization of political races that affect state issues."[5]
Background
Gubernatorial election cycles
The constitutional amendment would have changed the election date for state executive officials, including the governor, from odd-numbered years to even-numbered presidential election years beginning in 2024. As of 2018, 11 states held their gubernatorial elections during even-numbered presidential election. New Hampshire and Vermont held their gubernatorial elections during even-numbered presidential elections and even-numbered midterm elections because the term lengths of their governors are two years. As of 2018, Kentucky was one of five states that held their gubernatorial elections during odd-numbered years.
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Kentucky Constitution
In Kentucky, a constitutional amendment must be passed by a 60 percent vote in each house of the Kentucky State Legislature during one legislative session.
A group of 13 Republican state senators introduced the amendment into the state legislature as Senate Bill 4 (SB 4) on January 2, 2018. The Kentucky State Senate approved the amendment, 24 to 11 with three members not voting, on January 10, 2018.[3] The state Senate's Democrats were united in opposing the amendment.[6] The amendment did not receive a vote in the Kentucky House of Representatives before the 2018 legislative session adjourned.
| Vote in the Kentucky State Senate | |||
| Requirement: Three-fifths (60 percent) vote of all members in each chamber | |||
Number of yes votes required: 23  | |||
| Yes | No | Not voting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 24 | 11 | 3 |
| Total percent | 63.16% | 28.95% | 7.89% |
| Democrat | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| Republican | 24 | 0 | 3 |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Kentucky State Legislature, "Senate Bill 4," accessed January 11, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kentucky Legislature, "Senate Bill 4 History," accessed January 11, 2018
- ↑ Kentucky Today, "Amendment to move elections of KY officials clears first hurdle," January 10, 2018
- ↑ U.S. News, "Senate OK's Proposal to Change Years to Elect Governors," January 11, 2018
- ↑ Twitter, "KY Senate Democrats," January 11, 2018
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