Kentucky State Sen. Chris McDaniel discusses Amendment 1 on the ballot this year

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Election Day is fast approaching, and one question will be on all voting Kentuckians’ ballots this coming November.

Amendment 1 will ask the public if they favor limiting the pardoning powers for governors in office.

“What the amendment is really about is introducing some accountability into our system of justice that doesn’t exist right now,” said State Sen. Chris McDaniel. “The governor’s power to pardon in Kentucky is completely unlimited. The governor could, for any reason or no reason whatsoever, release every inmate at this state at any time. And what this does, is it some of the most egregious abuses that we’ve seen in the past.”

Whether it’s in the White House or in the governor’s mansion, pardons have been a controversial topic amongst the public.

McDaniel has worked for the past few years to propose this new amendment to the Kentucky Constitution, something he says affects all Kentuckians and is a nonpartisan issue.

“Most everyone I’ve come across thinks there should be a limitation to this power, because the the justice system is fundamental to government, and the justice system is very robust in this state. And so very few people that I’ve come across even think there shouldn’t be some type of limitation. They vary in approaches, but the approach that’s in front of us is a simple yes or no on amendment one,” McDaniel said.

The pardoning powers of a governor are affirmed in the Kentucky Constitution, meaning that a vote from the legislature is not enough and that the people must decide for themselves.

“The Constitution vests this power in the governor. It’s not given in statute or regulation. It is in the Constitution. So a change to this power requires a change to the Constitution, and that ultimately requires ratification from the voters,” McDaniel said.

McDaniel says that there are countless examples of questionable pardons made by governors in the past, and that the time has finally come to bring a check and balance to governor’s pardons.

“Every place in our system of justice from the time of victim files, a complaint through the police officers and prosecutors and judges and juries and appellate courts and even the Supreme Court, there are checks and balances to the powers that exist inside the judicial system. The only place where there is no check whatsoever is the governor’s power to pardon and any elected official. The ultimate check is to have to stand in front of the voters and account for your actions at the ballot box,” McDaniel said.

If the amendment is passed, it would prevent the sitting governor from granting pardon, starting 60 days before the general election and ending with the governor is sworn into office.