Proposed Kentucky bills would ban naturalized, dual citizens from holding public office

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Republicans filed two bills in the Kentucky legislature to ban naturalized citizens and those with dual citizenship from holding public office.

Naturalized citizens are those who were born outside of the U.S. but went through the process to gain citizenship.

Rep. Shane Baker and Rep. John Hodson, who represents part of Jefferson County, filed the bills.

House Bill 186 would set those rules for local offices like mayor and city council.

House Bill 259 would put those requirements in place for state office, like governor and attorney general.

Changing requirements for state office would require a constitutional amendment that voters would have to approve.

Rep. Nima Kulkarni, an immigration attorney from Louisville, is the only naturalized citizen serving in the state legislature.

Kulkarni was at the center of a fight over her eligibility to run due to a problem on her candidate filing paperwork in 2024. She won that fight in October 2024 after the Kentucky Supreme Court rejected an appeal by her primary opponent.

Kulkarni, a Democrat, won 80% of the votes over Zeitz in the primary election for the District 40 seat in the Statehouse. But the Kentucky Supreme Court tossed the results, disqualifying Kulkarni due to a problem on her candidate filing paperwork. She needed two signatures from voters of the same party to support her candidacy, but one of Kulkarni's was registered Republican.

No Republicans ran in the race, so Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams declared a vacancy. That allowed each party to submit a new nominee for November. Democrats re-nominated the incumbent, Kulkarni.

Her primary opponent, William Zietz, filed a lawsuit in September 2024 to block the nomination, but that effort failed. It was the second time the state Supreme Court rejected the appeal. The October 2024 ruling was the final ruling as Zeitz had no more appeals to file.

Kulkarni beat 20-year incumbent Dennis Horlander to win this seat in 2018. He's also the one who challenged her candidacy, getting her disqualified from the race.

To read more about HB 186, which was filed Wednesday, click here.

To read more about HB 259, filed Thursday, click here.

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