Voters reject Republican-backed amendments

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Kentucky voters had two constitutional amendments to consider Tuesday night and they rejected both of them.

Amendment 2 would have prohibited a right to an abortion.

It failed with about 54 percent of the vote against.

Decision 2022: Election Results

That included former Jefferson County GOP Chair Bill Stone, who wrote an op-ed in the Courier Journal saying government needs to stay out of the personal lives of its constituents.

“Some said they didn’t agree with me,” Stone said. “But they felt the logic of my position was well received. And there were a lot of Republican women who privately said to me thank you.”

Amendment 1 would have allowed the legislature to by-pass the Governor and call itself into a special session.

It failed by a similar margin.

“People don’t like that,” Representative Mary Lou Marzian (D) District 34 said. “People want their government to be efficient, to get the job done in the time allotted. And not to have to come back in for special sessions over and over again. And it was a huge power-play by the Republicans and they lost.”

Voters may be sending a not-so-subtle message that could have an impact on Governor Andy Beshear’s re-election chances in 2023.

“If the voters were willing to vote against a republican legislature on policy issues,” UK Political Science Associate Professor Stephen Voss said. “They’re willing to vote against Republicans.”

But political experts caution against making any long-term conclusions.

“I would be careful about reading too much into any one data point or any two data points,” UofL Political Science Professor Jasmine Farrier said. “I would just again repeat that voters should not be taken for granted and voters have the right to be inconsistent.”

That inconsistency was evident Tuesday night.

While rejecting the amendments, voters also gave the Republican legislative majority even more seats in both houses.

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