Come November, Kentuckians will have more on the ballot than just candidates.

They'll also have a constitutional amendment.

Amendment one relates to a governor's power to give pardons.

And if that power should be limited around election season, a Northern Kentucky senator has worked for many years to get the amendment on the ballot.

Our Emily Prince caught up with him in Corbin to learn more about the measure.

State Senator Chris McDaniel is touring the Commonwealth, including a stop here in Corbin to explain why he wants Kentuckians to vote yes on amendment one.

If it passes, the amendment would limit the governor's power to give last minute pardons.

McDaniel said he saw the need for the change after Governor Matt Bevin gave a slew of pardons back in 2019.

Some for crimes as heinous as sodomy, rape, murder and many, many others.

Bevin issued more than 400 pardons during his final days in office after losing the 2019 election to Andy Beshear.

Bevin later told The Washington Post he was a believer in second chances.

McDaniel said one of the former governors pardons hit close to home for a friend who knew Debbie Pooley.

Pooley was murdered in northern Kentucky in 1987.

He kidnaped Debbie, drove her around, raped her multiple times, ultimately murdered her and threw her body into a field.

The previous governor issued a pardon to the man who committed this crime, and ultimately that pardon allowed for him to end up in front of the parole board, where he stood to walk free.

McDaniel said the man was ultimately not granted freedom by the parole board after pleas from police, friends and family.

But the state lawmaker said he wants to prevent situations like that from happening again.

He's worked for seven years to get this amendment on the ballot.

So what exactly would it do?

What amendment one simply does is from 60 days before a gubernatorial election until the time of the swearing in of a new governor, the power to pardon ceases to exist.

So voting yes on amendment one would force a governor, if they wanted to issue a pardon, to do it more than 60 days before an election.

I asked McDaniel what would prevent a governor who is headed out of office for making controversial pardons before the 60 day cutoff.

If the governor takes certain actions, then the party has to account at the ballot box.

And I think that the voters would view some of the pardons we saw last time very unfavorably for the party of the governor.

Not everyone is on board with amendment one, however.

Senate Minority Caucus Chair Reggie Thomas was the only senator to vote no on the bill during this year's legislative session.

He said it's important for the governor to be able to address wrongful convictions or other faults of the criminal justice system through pardons, and he said current and future leaders shouldn't pay the price for Bevin's decisions.

I just think it's wrong.

There's no reason to do that.

You had one bad apple in Matt Bevin.

You know, Matt Bevin certainly used that power.

Incorrect.

But you've had a whole host of governors before.

Matt Bevin.

Who, who who used the pardon power wisely and humane.

The Lexington Democrat also believes governors must deal with more pressing policy matters in the beginning of their term, and they can give more thought to pardons in the final days of their role.

For those reasons, Thomas says he'll be casting a no vote on amendment one.

I'm urging everyone to vote no on on amendment number one, that that the pardon power remain with the governor.

McDaniel, however, says the judicial system has layers of checks and balances for a reason.

Only power that exists in our justice system that has no check and no balance on it is the power to pardon.

McDaniel said amending the state constitution is not something he takes lightly, but he believes amendment one will pass in November.

In Corbin for Kentucky Edition, I'm Emily Prince.

McDaniel is also making stops in Bowling Green, Louisville, Lexington and other cities to drum up support for amendment one.