Kentucky governor restores voting rights for most felons in state

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear is issuing an executive order to restore voting rights for some felons.

Kentucky is one of four states that requires its governor to sign off on the restoration of a felon’s voting rights.

Beshear laid out three criteria for ex-felons to meet before their rights are restored: 1) They must have fulfilled their sentence; 2) They must have no pending criminal cases or charges; 3) They must not have been convicted of violent crimes, sex crimes, bribery, or treason.

“The right to vote is one of the most intrinsically American privileges, and thousands of Kentuckians are living, working and paying taxes in the state but are denied this basic right”, Beshear, a Democrat, said at a press conference. About 180,000 people in Kentucky have served their sentences, yet remain banned from casting ballots. “The Executive Order will be evaluated during the transition period”. Offenders who do will have their voting rights restored “without undue delay” and receive a certificate of Restoration of Civil Rights in the mail.

“I have always been a supporter of allowing low-level, non-violent felony offenders to have their voting rights restored once they have paid their debt to society”. Though legislation amending Kentucky’s constitution to restore the voting rights of nonviolent felons has easily passed the state House in recent years, it was continually blocked in the state Senate-with Sen.

“All of our society will be better off if we actively work to help rehabilitate those who have made a mistake”, Beshear said.

The Brennan Center for Justice estimates that Beshear’s executive order will immediately allow 140,000 Kentuckians to restore their voting rights, and an additional 30,000 will be eligible down the road.

Beshear held off making the announcement until after the election because he did not want it to become a political issue. “Restoring the right to vote will improve Kentucky’s democracy, strengthen its communities, and increase public safety. Rand Paul, who has testified in support of restoring the rights of ex-offenders, will use his influence with the governor-elect and his fellow Republicans in the state legislature to see that this order has bipartisan support”.