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Kentucky State Executive Elections in Even-Numbered Years Amendment (2020)
| Kentucky State Executive Elections in Even-Numbered Years Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2020 | |
| 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 3, 2020.
The measure would have changed the election date for state executive officials from odd-numbered years to even-numbered presidential election years beginning in 2028.[1]
The following offices would have had their elections moved from odd-numbered to even-numbered years: governor, lieutenant governor, treasurer, auditor, attorney general, secretary of state, and commissioner of agriculture.[1]
The last election of state executive officials in Kentucky was November 5, 2019. The next election was scheduled for November 7, 2023. The measure would have made the election on November 7, 2023, the last to be held in an odd-numbered year. Officials elected in 2023 would have served five-year terms, rather than four-year terms, until officials elected on November 7, 2028, were seated. The measure would have required elections to be 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 with the regular election in 2028 and every four years thereafter, which will save substantial state and local funds, with those officers elected in 2023 serving a five-year term, by amending the Constitution of Kentucky to read as stated below?[2] | ” |
Constitutional changes
The measure would have amended Section 95 of the Kentucky Constitution. The following underlined text would have been added and struck-through text would have been deleted:[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 2023.
(2) Following the election in November 2023, 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 2028, and the same day every four years thereafter.[2]
Background
Gubernatorial election cycles
As of 2020, 11 states held their gubernatorial elections during even-numbered presidential elections, and 36 states held their gubernatorial elections during even-numbered midterm elections. New Hampshire and Vermont held their gubernatorial elections during even-numbered presidential elections and midterm elections because their gubernatorial term lengths are two years. 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 requires a 60 percent vote in each chamber of the Kentucky State Legislature during one legislative session. That amounts to a minimum of 60 votes in the Kentucky House of Representatives and 23 votes in the Kentucky State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
On January 7, 2020, the constitutional amendment was introduced into the state legislature as Senate Bill 3 (SB 3). The state Senate voted 31-3 to pass SB 5 on January 16, 2020. There was one vacant seat at the time of the voting. SB 3 did not receive a vote by the Kentucky House of Representatives before the legislature adjourned on April 15, 2020.[3]
| 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 | 31 | 3 | 3 |
| Total percent | 83.78% | 8.11% | 8.11% |
| Democrat | 6 | 3 | 0 |
| Republican | 25 | 0 | 3 |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Kentucky State Legislature, "Senate Bill 3," accessed January 17, 2020
- ↑ 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 - ↑ Kentucky State Legislature, "Senate Bill 3 Overview," accessed January 17, 2020
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