Constitutional Amendments

A constitutional amendment is a change to a constitution, in this case the Kentucky state constitution. A state constitution contains the laws that govern a state. A “yes” vote would amend the constitution, and a “no” vote would keep it as it currently stands.

Along with the local Charter amendments, you will be asked to vote YES or NO on a State Constitutional Amendment, the Kentucky Limit Governor's Pardon Power and Commutations Near General Election Amendment (2026).

✅ Passed

Voting Yes means that the Governor would be prohibited from issuing a pardon or commuting a sentence 60 days before to the gubernatorial election and up to the fifth Tuesday after the election.

Voting No means that the state constitution would stay the same and the Governor will continue to be able to issue a pardon or commute a sentence 60 days before to the gubernatorial election and up to the fifth Tuesday after the election.

Context:

The amendment was introduced as Senate Bill 10 (SB 10) on January 8, 2026. It received almost unanimous support from voting Republicans, with 98.1% supporting it, while 54.2% of voting Democrats supported it.

The last three governors of Kentucky authorized nearly all pardons or commutations in the final months or days of their term. Currently, the only limitation to the governor’s pardon power is that the governor cannot grant reprieves or pardons for impeachments. No state currently restricts the timing of gubernatorial pardons around an election. (Ballotpedia)