Kentucky’s Amendment 1 bans something that’s already illegal. Vote no. | Opinion

Kentucky has a ballot amendment in November to ban non-citizen voting – which is already not allowed by law and, when violated, could be met with any number of penalties from fines to deportation or even prison time. We have witnessed the horrific attacks on immigrants in Ohio; Kentucky does not need to double-down on xenophobic rhetoric that leads to hate.

Constitutional Amendment 1 asks if you are in favor of amending Sections 145 and 155 of the Constitution of Kentucky to prohibit, “persons who are not citizens of the United States…” from being allowed to vote in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Amendment 1 is a proposed change to our State Constitution that does not change how it is currently interpreted and enacted but will likely create barriers to voting for many of our neighbors. It would change the Kentucky Constitution to say that only US citizens can vote in elections in our Commonwealth, but there is no evidence in Kentucky where a person who is not a citizen has even tried to vote in local or state elections. Amendment 1 could create barriers to voting for naturalized citizens who have built a life for themselves in the Commonwealth of KY.

This election cycle has been full of a lot of talk around immigration and lies about immigrants. Kentucky should not scrape the bottom of the barrel to become a place where our neighbors are told that their voices are less important, nor should someone who has gone through the years-long process of becoming a US citizen have to face racist and xenophobic questions about their immigration status when they are attempting to exercise their right to vote.

In Alabama, the US Department of Justice is suing the State and its top election official for purging voters too close to Election Day. It was part of a program to remove “non-citizens” from the voting rolls; although, it has resulted in people born in Alabama being threatened with removal. Sadly, this is part of a coordinated effort across the country to limit access to the ballot.

We are in the 11th year without the full protections of the Voting Rights Act. When a decade ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled we no longer need protections against Jim Crow policies, it unleashed coordinated, intentional voter suppression efforts on a state-by-state basis targeting Black, brown, and poor people. We witnessed Congress engage in an 11-year filibuster against a new Voting Rights Act, spearheaded by Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. Why? Because extremist politicians know that if we change the South, we will change this nation!

Our coalition isn’t fighting to save the democracy that we have today, we’re fighting for a democracy that has yet to be. We’re fighting for a multiracial, economically just democracy that will unlock policies reflective of the dreams of our neighbors. We refuse to lower our expectations for what the people of Kentucky deserve. We are saying no to hate, no to racism, no to xenophobia, no to fearing our neighbors who speak different languages, come from different cultures, or were born with a different skin color. Instead, we say yes to democracy, yes to justice, yes to our friends and neighbors who have become citizens and are entitled to all of the rights that come with citizenship.

Our votes are demands for a new day. A new democracy. A new economy. A new governance that puts people and the planet over profit and power.

We encourage you to vote “No” so that we can retain the Constitution as it is and keep racism and cowardly barriers away from the ballot box. Voting yes sends a message to naturalized citizens that we do not want them to vote and to immigrants that their voices are not welcome in Kentucky.

Attica Scott is a former State Representative and the Director of Special Projects at Forward Justice Action Network

Rev. Todd Smith is Chair of the Justice and Advocacy Commission of the Kentucky Council of Churches