Election day is quickly approaching in Kentucky, which means we could see changes happening in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. Although this year isn’t a presidential election, Kentuckians have the opportunity to impact the partisanship of both the Senate and House in the U.S., so the election is incredibly important. 

One of the biggest races in the election is for the U.S. Senate. Candidates Rand Paul and Charles Booker are running against one another for the position. Since Paul has been in office for over a decade, many voters are eager to see a change in their U.S. senator. 

Booker is a strong candidate for the position and is willing to create necessary and positive change throughout our state and country. One of his main concerns is to end generational poverty by focusing on the needs of Kentuckians rather than focusing on a profit. He also plans to implement policies supporting coal miners in Kentucky since so many of our citizens still rely on coal-focused jobs. 

Booker also looks at issues impacting our senior citizens. Many of our senators, Paul in particular, have worked to privatize and defund our social safety net, which would leave millions of senior citizens homeless. 

Additionally, Booker is working to generate policies to help the quality of life of children in the poorest areas of our state and country, since one in six children go hungry in our Commonwealth. Booker also plans to target child abuse rates across our state since we rank first in reported cases of child abuse. 

It is clear Booker is passionate about the people of our commonwealth. As someone who grew up in poverty himself, he is willing to give a voice to everyone, even those with less of an ability to make their voices heard. Charles Booker is exactly the positive change we need in Kentucky to finally get things done. 

A vote for Booker is a vote for the future of Kentucky. Especially when it comes to his background, he is willing to work for each and every citizen in our commonwealth. Contrary to Paul, who was the lone U.S. senator opposed to making lynching a federal crime, Booker is concerned with making sure each citizen has their basic needs met. 

Other important issues residents will be voting on are Amendment 1 and Amendment 2 of the Kentucky Constitution. While Amendment 2 is more widespread across the state, both amendments will change the way our state legislature is run. 

Amendment 1 will ask voters if they want to scrap the constitutional rules that end legislative sessions in early spring, after 60 days in even-numbered years and 30 days in odd-numbered years, and that only allow the governor to call lawmakers back to Frankfort for special sessions on specific topics.

A “yes” vote on this amendment would mean Kentucky legislators would meet more often and have the ability to change laws more often. Many Kentucky Republicans support this amendment since it involves more power being handed from the governor to the legislature.  Especially after Gov. Andy Beshear’s COVID-19 policies, such as necessary masking and changing business operations, many are in support of less power in the hands of the governor. 

Amendment 2 is much more well known across the state of Kentucky, as it involves abortion rights in the Kentucky Constitution. This amendment would change wording in the constitution to include no protections for abortion rights or pregnant people. Amendment 2 has gotten a significant amount of attention across the state and has sparked debates from both sides of the argument. 

A “yes” vote on Amendment 2 would remove already restricted abortion rights in the state and remove all state protections for abortion, regardless of the reasoning. This amendment would negatively impact so many people across Kentucky and potentially lead to the deaths of people who have pregnancy complications. 

One of the most important actions we can take as voters is be politically informed. Before voting, we should educate ourselves on the issues we care about. Especially when it comes to elections like this where we vote for a potential partisanship change in the U.S. legislature or amendments impacting an entire demographic of people across our state. 

We have to ensure we are politically active and engaged. Many people hold the belief that their vote doesn’t count, but it really doesn’t count if you never cast a vote at all.