A House panel took less than 10 minutes to approve unanimously, a bill that would allow those convicted of non-violent felonies to regain their rights to vote. Supporters have invoked the name of the first woman and first person of color to serve in the Kentucky Senate, who died Jan. 30 at the age of 92. “Georgia Powers, she said it best,” Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes (D-Lexington) told the House Committee on Elections, Constitutional Amendments and Intergovernmental Affairs on Monday. “Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude and right now, Kentucky is failing!”
The proposed changes still would deny voting to those convicted of murder or of any crime that involves the intentional taking of a life. It also would bar voting for those convicted of violent sex crime, or of any sex crime in which a child is the victim.
Those convicted of bribery of an elected official, or any felony involving elections, also would be barred from voting.
Full Article: Powers’ spirit invoked in renewed effort to restore felons’ voti – wave3.com-Louisville News, Weather & Sports.