Kentuckians proved on Election Day that when asked a direct question, voters may differ from the prevailing political party of their state.
Kentucky, like Indiana, is deep Red. It overwhelmingly went to Donald Trump this year, and its legislature is controlled by a Republican supermajority. About the only difference politically between Indiana and its southern neighbor is that Kentuckians have twice elected a Democrat, Andy Beshear, as their governor recently.
This election, Kentucky voters were asked to decide on Amendment 2. The measure would have amended Kentucky’s constitution to allow the General Assembly to award public money to private schools.
Vouchers and school choice are largely viewed as Republican platforms. Many Kentucky Republican legislators were in favor of the amendment. It was the Republican legislature that placed the amendment on the ballot after courts struck down lawmakers’ previous attempts to approve school choice. Yet the measure failed in every county and was easily defeated, with almost 65% of those who cast ballots on the issue voting “No.”
One can’t help but speculate as to whether Indiana’s voucher system would have met a similar fate as Amendment 2 if Hoosiers were allowed to directly vote on the issue. But Indiana lawmakers don’t trust Hoosiers with citizen-led ballot initiatives.
If they did, they would allow the public to decide by putting forth an amendment to allow those initiatives. Instead, Indiana is one of 24 states where statewide citizen-initiated ballot measures are forbidden.
Vouchers are just one issue. The topic garnering the most attention for a ballot initiative continues to be marijuana legalization. A 2023 survey by the Bowen Center for Public Affairs at Ball State University found that 54.2% of respondents supported legal recreational and medical use of marijuana, while an additional 32.2% backed legal use for only medical purposes. Just 9.8% of those surveyed said marijuana should remain illegal in all uses.
Yet Gov. Eric Holcomb didn’t support marijuana legalization, nor did a majority of Hoosier lawmakers. Multiple legislative attempts failed. How will Gov.-elect Mike Braun and the new legislature address the issue? The answer will likely be reminiscent of a famous rock ‘n’ roll lyric: “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”
Meanwhile, voters in some other Midwestern states legalized marijuana. In Ohio, a red state, voters also approved in 2023 a state constitutional amendment protecting access to abortion.
But not every ballot initiative or constitutional amendment put forth is approved. Ohio voters this year rejected a proposal to form a citizen-led redistricting commission. It would be nice if Hoosiers could vote directly on redistricting initiatives, in light of how unfair our legislative maps have become.
True democracy is allowing people’s voices to be heard. Trump won a decisive victory because voters chose him to be our next president. Voters in Indiana should also have a voice on the important matters of our time. The legislature should reconsider pursuing a change in the state constitution to allow citizen-initiated ballot measures.
Just because a legislator or governor is elected to office, doesn’t mean that the public agrees with their every view. In a time of hyper partisanship, giving the people power over how they’re governed should be a right we all support.
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