Kentucky voters to decide whether to limit governor’s pardon power before elections

FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — Kentucky voters will decide whether to restrict a governor’s ability to issue pardons in the weeks surrounding an election, a proposal prompted by controversial pardons issued by former Gov. Matt Bevin in 2019.

Amendment 1 would prohibit a governor from issuing pardons beginning 60 days before an election through Inauguration Day, roughly five weeks after the election.

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Sen. Chris McDaniel, who pushed for the change, said the amendment is intended to ensure governors remain accountable to voters when exercising their pardon power.

“In the political world, there’s no greater accountability than standing in front of the voters,” McDaniel said. “So, what we wanted to make sure of is that if a governor felt the need to issue a pardon, that he or she or their party would then have to stand in front of voters who have full information about the pardons that have been issued.”

The proposal follows the controversy surrounding Bevin’s use of his pardon power after losing his reelection bid in 2019. Before leaving office, Bevin issued more than 600 pardons and commutations, including several that drew widespread criticism.

McDaniel believes Kentucky voters will approve the measure.

But Any Beshear, Kentucky's current governor, opposes the proposed change and argues that Bevin’s actions do not justify restricting the power of future governors.

“The answer to this is not changing the pardon power of every other governor that hasn’t abused it this way, but not electing a guy like Matt Bevin ever again,” Beshear said.

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