Restoring the voting rights to felons ranked among the reforms some Northern Kentuckians would like to see Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes advocate for. Dozens of Northern Kentuckians Wednesday night at Dixie Heights High School told Grimes what they like and dislike about Kentucky’s voting laws. Grimes vistied Northern Kentucky as part of five town halls she will conduct around the state this year to get input on voting laws. Many wore stickers made by advocacy organization Kentuckians for the Commonwealth that read “I voted but 243,842 Kentuckians could not. Restore voting rights to former felons.” A majority of the the 121 people polled online by the Scripps Howard Center for Civic Engagement at Northern Kentucky University–56 percent–”strongly” agreed with restoring voting rights to felons, while another 24 percent “somewhat” agreed. But Kentucky remains one of four states that requires a gubernatorial pardon to restore voting rights.
That doesn’t happen often, said Campbell County Clerk Jack Snodgrass, who only remembers three pardons of Campbell County residents by the governor in the last 10 years, which included former Newport Mayor Johnny “TV” Peluso.
Many at the forum told Grimes they think felons should get more of a chance to vote.
Rick Thies, a rehabilitation counselor from Covington, said he’s worked with former felons to apply for restoration of their voting rights and hasn’t seen any of them get approved.
Thies questioned the logic of banning felons from voting.
“An 18-year-old kid smokes a joint and is a felon for life?” Thies said. “Really?”
Virginia Johnson, a Kenton County Democrat, has worked with Kentuckians for the Commonwealth to lobby the General Assembly to pass legislation that would allow voters to decide whether to amend the constitution so felons could get automatic restoration of voting rights.
“They just won’t let it come before a vote in the Senate,” Johnson said. “We thought with (former Senate President) David Williams gone that would make a difference but it didn’t. I just don’t understand why people are against it.”
Full Article: NKYians debate restoring felons’ right to vote | Kentucky Politics.
The Voting News
A News Service of the Verified Voting Foundation
