Staff report
Statewide results — with some 85% of votes reported just after midnight — indicate that voters have rejected both Constitutional Amendments on the ballot.
This means that Constitutional Amendment #1 was defeated. It would have amended the state Constitution to allow the General Assembly to call itself into special session. Currently, only the governor can call a special legislative session, and that it the way it will remain. The measure also would have changed the effective date of new laws.
The majority of voters in Boone County said Yes to the amendment; the majority of Campbell County voters said NO; and the majority of voters in Kenton County said YES.
Statewide, NO prevailed with 53.7% of the vote.
It also means that Constitutional Amendment #2 was also defeated, with 85% of the statewide vote reporting just after midnight.
The measure would have amended the state constitution to say that it does not provide the right to abortion or require funding of abortion.
Protect Kentucky Access, a coalition opposing Amendment 2, issued a statement “applauding the voters of Kentucky for rejecting this extreme anti-choice proposal.”
“This is a historic win for the people of Kentucky,” said Rachel Sweet of Protect Kentucky Access. “Not only does it represent a win against government interference in the people of Kentucky’s personal medical decisions, it represents the first time so many different organzations have come together with such an intense single-minded purpose to defeat a threat of this magnitude.”
Rev. Wayne Gnatuk, chair of Kentucky Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, said the “defeat of Consitutional Amendment 2 is a wonderful affirmation of religious freedom for Kentuckians. “Reproductive decisions should be between a woman, her doctor, and her God. Today’s vote affirms that truth.”
Amber Duke of the ACLU of Kentucky agreed. “This is a victory for bodily autonomy and the right of all Kentuckians to make the best decisions for themselves,” she said.
Voters in Boone County said Yes to the amendment with 51% of the vote counted just after midnight; the majority of voters in Campbell County said NO; and the majority of voters in Kenton County said NO.
See the current status of all issues on the Boone, Campbell and Kenton ballots on the state website, as votes are still being counted:
See Boone County Unofficial Results here.
See Campbell County Unofficial Results here.
See Kenton County unofficial results here.
