LOUISVILLE, Ky.- About 312,000 Kentuckians are ineligible to vote because of past convictions.
House Democrats are trying to change that with a package of bills aimed at increasing voting access. They have prefiled legislation that would restore felon voting rights and increase access to polls.
The legislation to restore felon voting rights would be a constitutional amendment that if passed by the General Assembly would go on the 2020 ballot for voters to approve.
A former felon, Greg Duncan, has been out of prison for ten years but still is unable to cast a ballot in Kentucky.
“It ain’t about Republicans or Democrats, I want to be a part of the process,” Duncan said. “Why can’t I vote? It’s like I’m being punished for the rest of my life.”
The legislation would allow for automatic voter restoration upon completion of probation, parole or imprisonment.
“A juvenile indiscretion should not be a life sentence for the citizens of the commonwealth. We can do better, there are 48 other states that have some type of reinstitution of people into their society,” Rep. George Brown, D-Lexington, said. “It’s very, very important that we push forward and that we ask all citizens in the commonwealth to ask their representatives and their senators to do the right thing.”
A companion bill will be filed in the Senate as well. Similar legislation has passed the House in the past but died in the Senate. Sen. Gerald Neal, D-Louisville, says he hopes Senate leadership will let this legislation be heard.
“In the minds of some of those in the Senate they do not see this as a priority and some that actually support and recognize the importance of this do not step forward unless their leadership would do that knowing that the leadership is dominated by the other party,” Neal said. “I am hopeful that this time we will see some light, and that the Senate will participate in supporting this effort. It’s a reasonable approach, it’s a timely approach to getting this thing done, as it was indicated there are 48 other states and Kentucky is just two among those 50 that hasn’t even raised its head in respect to this. It’s a shameful thing if the Senate does not step forward and carry out its responsibility.”
House Democrats say this is one of the top prioirities for the 2020 session.
Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Andy Beshear has vowed to restore voting rights to non-violent offenders via executive order during his first week in office if elected.
Iowa is the only other state with a lifetime ban on voting for felons.
Rep. Maria Sorolis, D-Louisville, also prefiled four pieces of legislation aimed at making polls more acceptable to voters.
The four bills would:
· Allow in-person, excuse-free early voting on the three Saturdays ahead of a primary, general or special election.
· Automatically register eligible Kentuckians to vote when they apply for or renew their driver’s license, unless they opt out.
· Establish same-day voter registration
· Create area voting locations in counties with 90,000 or more people for voters who may be unable to make it to the voting location nearest to their home.
“We hope this will be the beginning of higher levels of turnout of participation for Kentuckians in determining the government that you get,” Sorolis said.
Just 31 percent of registered voters are predicted to come out on Nov. 5.