Amendment 2 could get more people to vote

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – The first two days of early voting are set. A hot topic on the ballot could be getting more people to vote.

225,696 Kentuckians voted on the first day of early voting Thursday.

While much attention is focused on the leading candidates in the presidential race, Amendment 2 is proving to be an important issue for voters here in the Commonwealth.

“We want to make sure that we give parents more choices so that they can provide those choices to their students,” said Senator Donald Douglas, a sponsor of Amendment 2

“It’s really not the parents’ decision; These are the schools that get to choose,” said Amendment 2 opponent Billy Parker, Scott County Schools Superintendent.

The proposed amendment would allow the passage of laws allowing the state to fund private schools with public money.

Supporters like Senator Douglas say passing the amendment would not only benefit parents but teachers as well.

“So that they have other options in terms of how they present and how they can use the skills that they've learned in their teaching career to help students teach,” Douglas says.

But Parker says passing Amendment 2 would send money to private schools, which don't have the level of accountability that public schools do.

“This takes away a lot of the guardrails that are there to protect all children in Kentucky, and that's the part that really scares me,” Parker said.

Amendment 2 does not specify how government funds should be used.

Douglas says passing the amendment would simply allow the Legislature to allow the General Assembly to get involved in the education of Kentucky's children.

“If we then want to take the further step and say, what kind of policy will we develop when we have this opportunity? “Then we can decide how we want to finance this,” says Douglas.

Parker says supporters have tried to pass voucher legislation in the past.

“It's really hard for me to believe that when you've already tried to pass bills that include vouchers, all of a sudden we're not thinking in that direction anymore?” Parker says.

It's up to Kentucky to decide this Election Day.

Early in-person voting will resume again on Saturday for the final day.

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