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A Kentucky voting history 
(from a pandemic stalled project):
The first western state, KY has been a crucible for national change (fight me).
The 1792 Constitution enfranchised all men regardless of property status. It did not explicitly disenfranchise Indigenous or Black men.
(from a pandemic stalled project): The first western state, KY has been a crucible for national change (fight me).
The 1792 Constitution enfranchised all men regardless of property status. It did not explicitly disenfranchise Indigenous or Black men.
By 1799, a new state constitution embraced conservative and restrictive voting. It explicitly embraced slavery & made voting for some white men harder. KYians struggled under an absentee federal govt and flirted with Spain, as they embraced violence as settler-colonialists.
Some white Kentucky women were voting in local elections by the 1830s. Elite white women were also political activists, working on campaigns and participating in parades and rallies. Henry Clay was particularly popular with central Kentucky white ladies.
By 1850, expansion of the electorate and anti-slavery activism led Kentucky to a reactive and pro-enslavement constitution. Delegates embraced felon disenfranchisement and attempted to force free Blacks from the state. Fierce partisanship reigned.
Know-Nothing newspapers and politicians sowed division. Violence against Catholics and immigrants erupted on Election Day 1855. At least 22 Louisvillians died and hundreds were attacked by nativist mobs fearful of the democracy they claimed to be protecting.
Kentuckians did not cast their electoral votes for Lincoln in 1860 or 1864. As my pal @KyPLewis beautifully argues, white KYians fought for slavery and Union. The Emancipation Proclamation and recruitment of USCT in loyal slave states ended service and seeded postwar declension.
Kentuckians did not ratify the Reconstruction amendments for a century & while the state never officially adopted black codes for voting, vigilante violence and Election Day intimidation were the norm. Election interference and political corruption run deep.
The 1890 constitution, the one that governs the state today, kept felon disenfranchisement in perpetuity. The only way to regain citizenship rights in KY is through gubernatorial pardon. In December 2019 @GovAndyBeshear restored 140k former felons’ voting rights via EO.
In the 20th century, KY had a “sitting” governor assassinated, shot on the capitol lawn during a contested election (be on the 
for @HerecomesDrBob project). Elite KY white women helped pass the 19th amendment while maintaining racial segregation & promoting white supremacy.
for @HerecomesDrBob project). Elite KY white women helped pass the 19th amendment while maintaining racial segregation & promoting white supremacy.
Melanie Beals Goan’s new @KentuckyPress book A Simple Justice covers all you need on white ladies and the vote.
By mid-century, KYians lowered the voting age to 18 & became the 1st Southern state to pass a public accommodations bill.
By mid-century, KYians lowered the voting age to 18 & became the 1st Southern state to pass a public accommodations bill.
The last 40 years have seen attempts to expand citizenship and restrict votes. 2020 is a good encapsulation of this: the general assembly overrode the Governor’s veto of a voter id law, while the Sec of State (temporarily) expanded absentee and early voting.
KYians have fought & bled & died for the vote, to be full citizens in a participatory democracy. The commonwealth is messy, at times corrupt & unjust, but worth fighting for. Your vote is precious. Cast it—for those who made it possible & those who dream of its possibility.
