SB80 removes college and university identification documents, along with credit and debit cards, from being used as “proof of identification” to confirm a voter’s eligibility.
The Senate passed SB80 on January 30, 2024, by a vote of 27 to 7. We have assigned pluses to the yeas because this bill would improve Kentucky’s voter ID requirements by closing a significant loophole that risks electoral fraud and disenfranchisement of qualified U.S. citizen, Kentucky-resident voters. Section 147 of the Kentucky Constitution grants the General Assembly power to provide by law for the “registration” of all persons “entitled to vote” in the state, with the requirement that it “shall pass all necessary laws” to enforce the provision that “only persons registered shall have the right to vote.” The American people alone retain the “right of Representation in the Legislature,” and lawmakers in Kentucky should perform their duty and exercise the full extent of their authority under Article 1, Section 4, of the U.S. Constitution, as well as the 14th and 26th Amendments, to implement free, fair, and secure elections, thereby ensuring “the right of citizens of the United States to vote.”