Felons Voting Rights Press Release

League of Women Voters of Kentucky
1009 Twilight Trail, Suburban Park, Building D, Suite 103, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601

Frankfort, KY - The League of Women Voters of Kentucky has adopted a position to support restoration of voting rights to Kentuckians who have completed their felony sentence. A major report on this topic was released today.

According to the report, Kentucky is one of only three states to enforce lifetime voting bans on all persons with felony convictions, resulting in the disenfranchisement of almost 200,000 residents.

“Every citizen of our Commonwealth should be protected in the right to vote,” says the new report Felony Disenfranchisement in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Kentucky League President Teena Halbig said, “Our report emphasizes that the LWV in Kentucky seeks to increase citizen participation in our nation’s democracy through voting, including felons who have completed their sentence.”

One of every 17 adults in Kentucky is ineligible to vote due to a previous felony conviction, a rate more than twice the national average. Among African Americans, almost one in four is disenfranchised. The report also finds that 90% of those disenfranchised live in the community, and 69% have completed their full sentence. Citing findings that Kentucky has the sixth highest rate of disenfranchisement in the country and ranks first in the disenfranchisement of African Americans, the report calls for changes to Kentucky law and policies. League recommendations include:

· A ballot measure to consider amending the Constitution so that people living in the community and who have completed their sentence have their voting rights restored automatically.

· Improving the currently cumbersome application and restoration process for people with felony records.

· Providing assistance in the voter restoration process three months prior to an individual’s completion of sentence.

In 2001, the Kentucky General Assembly passed legislation to simplify voter restoration for people with previous convictions. After its implementation, the number of restorations rose until 2004 when the current governor began requiring applicants to submit written statements describing why their voting rights should be restored, along with three character references. Between July 2005 and March 2006, 28% of voter restoration applications were approved, while a majority of applications had been approved prior to this change in policy.

A 2006 survey of disenfranchised people by the Sentencing Project cited in the League’s report finds that the obstacles created in the Commonwealth’s restoration process would likely prevent more than half of survey respondents from applying for restoration, despite a strong desire to vote. The study suggests that limited education and writing experience likely played a role.

In other states, lawmakers have moved to expand voting rights for people with felony convictions. In the last five years, three states — New Mexico, Nebraska and Iowa — repealed their lifetime prohibitions on voting. In February 2006, four bills introduced in Kentucky’s legislature sought to set in motion a similar policy change. In 2007, the League and members of the Restoration of Voting Rights Coalition will work with the legislature to achieve the outlined reforms.

“The League was created by women who struggled many years seeking the right to vote,” said Halbig. “We believe citizens who have made a mistake, should have that right reinstated once they have completed their sentence and/or parole.”

The state League of Women Voters takes positions only after deliberation and consensus from local Leagues across the state.

Felony Disenfranchisement in the Commonwealth of Kentucky is available from The League of Women Voters of Kentucky at http://www.lwvky.org/ .

The League of Women Voters of Kentucky, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. Members include both women and men.