Last week, Secretary of State Michael Adams traveled to one of Kentucky’s more rural counties to speak to a civic group about the upcoming election.
The only question he got was from an elderly man who demanded to know what Adams was going to do about the hordes of undocumented immigrants who were planning to vote on Nov. 5 in Kentucky’s state and federal elections.
“I tried to explain that’s not happening in Kentucky, but if you have evidence of this happening, please let us know,” said Adams, a Republican who won the 2024 JFK Profile in Courage award for his fight for election integrity. “If there’s evidence of this happening in Kentucky make sure you tell us.”
There’s a lot of disinformation out there about immigrants voting, but there is very little evidence it’s happening in Kentucky or anywhere else. Adams said he’s never seen evidence of that happening, as he told legislators along with the State Board of Elections Staff and Kentucky State Police recently.
Last Thursday, the New York Times published a big story about a network of GOP activists who are actively preparing for large numbers of immigrant voters, despite federal laws preventing non-citizens from voting in federal elections.
In “Republicans Seize on False Theories About Immigrant Voting,” activists are “a sprawling network of Republicans who mobilized around former President Donald J. Trump’s false claims of a rigged election in 2020 and are now preparing for the next one.”
They’re trying to muddy the waters in case Trump loses. Here in Kentucky, he’ll win by a landslide. But the GOP is also trying to hedge against already illegal immigrant voting for slightly different reasons.
Amendment 1 would add the following language to the Kentucky Constitution: “No person who is not a citizen of the United States shall be allowed to vote in this state.”
Out on the speaking trail, Adams said, he explains it this way: “You can vote for this measure for non-federal elections and it will apply in 2027 but we already have a federal law for elections in 2024 and 2026 and we honor that law.”
“I think it’s harmless and I will vote for it,” Adams said. “It’s also unnecessary.”
Good politics
But Amendment 1 — and Donald Trump on the ballot — may bring a lot of voters out. And once they’ve voted yes for Amendment 1, they may be more inclined to also check the yes box on Amendment 2, which is the biggest issue and the biggest prize for Republicans: School choice.
Look at the timing on the two legislative bills that turned into the amendments. According to the Legislative Research Commission, Senate Bill 143, which became Amendment #1, was signed by the Senate President on March 15, and signed by the House Speaker and enrolled as bill on March 21 and sent to the Secretary of State’s office.
House Bill 2, the school choice amendment, passed the House on March 13, the Senate on March 15. But it did not get back to be enrolled by the House until March 21.
Both bills were delivered to the Secretary of State on March 21, and were signed by Adams in the order received: SB 143 at 3:07 p.m. and House Bill 2 at 3:16 p.m., according to copies of those bills received under the Kentucky Open Records Act. The bills were put onto the ballot in the order received, as is the tradition.
Coincidence? Maybe. But it’s also good politics to ensure what order amendments are voted on, and exactly what any other party in charge would do. It’s smart to use a national and imagined hysteria over voting immigrants to fuel a much bigger goal.
But in the end it’s bad for democracy. Undocumented immigrants can’t vote in national elections. It’s just not happening in Kentucky. We should, like Adams, be saying firmly that elections are safe and legal. Three days of early voting help more working people vote. Absentee ballots require an excuse.
Disinformation hurts all of us because it makes us doubt democratic institutions. In the end, nobody wins.
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