Kentucky Voters Choose "No" on Two Constitutional Amendments

The amendments dealt with abortions rights and allowing the General Assembly to call itself into special session.

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(Frankfort, Ky.) – A majority of Kentucky voters chose “no” on two ballot measures. 

The two measures in question were:

• Kentucky Amendment 1: Amends the state constitution to allow the General Assembly to call itself into a special session. Currently, only the governor can call a special legislative session. The measure would also change the effective date of new law.
• Kentucky Amendment 2: Amends the state constitution to say it does not include the right to abortion

Both measures were called on Wednesday morning with 85 percent of the vote counted.

For Amendment 1, nearly 54 percent voted “no” with a vote count of 653,984. Another 564,391 voted “yes” on the measure.

The vote count was similar on Amendment 2 with 700,023 (52.5%) voting “no” and 632,115 (47.5%) voting “yes”.

The rejection of the constitutional amendment will not reverse the state’s current legislation, which almost entirely prohibits abortion.

However, a lawsuit seeking to establish abortion as a state right is pending in court. Amendment 2 would have put an end to that battle by eliminating the right to abortion.