FRANKFORT, Ky. (Sept. 5, 2024) – Attorney General Russell Coleman announced today that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit immediately blocked the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance’s (KREF) attempt to stop Kentuckians from expressing political opinions through local county parties. Last week, General Coleman filed a brief arguing that KREF’s opinion violated the First Amendment when it restricted local parties from spending resources in support of or opposition to the proposed constitutional amendments on Kentuckians’ ballots this November.
The Sixth Circuit blocked KREF’s attempt to curtail the First Amendment and cleared the way for local county parties to express political opinions.
“Today, the Sixth Circuit upheld one of our nation’s most fundamental principles – the right to free speech,” said Attorney General Coleman. “Now, Kentucky’s political parties can have a full and open debate on the proposed constitutional amendments, and, this November, voters will have the opportunity to chart our Commonwealth’s future at the ballot box.”
“In the realm of First Amendment rights, few are more central than the right to express opinions on electoral questions and the qualifications of political candidates,” wrote the Sixth Circuit.
Kentucky’s Solicitor General Matthew Kuhn, Principal Deputy Solicitor General Jack Heyburn and Assistant Solicitor General Elizabeth Hedges filed the brief on behalf of the Attorney General’s Office.
