Weeks before he leaves office, the governor of Kentucky on Tuesday issued an executive order that will immediately grant the right to vote to about 140,000 nonviolent felons who have completed their sentences.
The order by Gov. Steven L. Beshear, a Democrat, was cheered by advocates for criminal justice reform and civil rights, who said it would place Kentucky’s policy more in line with others across the nation and was consistent with a trend toward easing voting restrictions on former inmates.
Kentucky had been one of just three states imposing a lifetime voting ban on felons unless they received a special exemption from the governor. Florida and Iowa still carry the lifetime ban.
“Once an individual has served his or her time and paid …show more content…
But the initial response from the governor-elect, Matt Bevin, a conservative Republican, was positive.
“Governor-elect Bevin has said many times that the restoration of voting rights for certain offenders is the right thing to do,” said Jessica Ditto, a spokeswoman for Mr. Bevin’s transition office. Mr. Bevin first learned of the order on Tuesday, she said, and will evaluate it in coming weeks.
Nationally, the drive to restore the right to vote to former convicts has gained bipartisan support as a way to promote the re-entry of prisoners to society, and as a way to reduce the disproportionate toll on potential black voters, a result of higher criminal conviction rates for African-Americans.
“America is the land of second chances,” Mr. Bevin, who was known as a Tea Party candidate, said in a debate in October.
Over the past two decades, more than 20 states have eased restrictions on voting by former prisoners, said Myrna Pérez, the director of the voting rights project at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. At the other extreme, convicted criminals in Maine and Vermont do not lose their franchise in the first place, and can cast ballots from …show more content…
The group welcomed the executive order as a major step in the right direction.
The Rev. Patrick Delahanty, who stepped down last year as the executive director of the Catholic Conference of Kentucky, a member of the coalition, said that the restoration of felons’ voting rights was part of the church’s vision of a fair justice system, and that it was important “to bring someone back into the community in a full way.”
Father Delahanty said he expected continued efforts in the Legislature to propose a change in the State Constitution, which bars felons from voting unless they receive a special pardon. Any such revision would need to be put to a popular vote, and if it passed, there would be no need for the executive order.
Advertisement
Continue reading the main
The order by Gov. Steven L. Beshear, a Democrat, was cheered by advocates for criminal justice reform and civil rights, who said it would place Kentucky’s policy more in line with others across the nation and was consistent with a trend toward easing voting restrictions on former inmates.
Kentucky had been one of just three states imposing a lifetime voting ban on felons unless they received a special exemption from the governor. Florida and Iowa still carry the lifetime ban.
“Once an individual has served his or her time and paid …show more content…
But the initial response from the governor-elect, Matt Bevin, a conservative Republican, was positive.
“Governor-elect Bevin has said many times that the restoration of voting rights for certain offenders is the right thing to do,” said Jessica Ditto, a spokeswoman for Mr. Bevin’s transition office. Mr. Bevin first learned of the order on Tuesday, she said, and will evaluate it in coming weeks.
Nationally, the drive to restore the right to vote to former convicts has gained bipartisan support as a way to promote the re-entry of prisoners to society, and as a way to reduce the disproportionate toll on potential black voters, a result of higher criminal conviction rates for African-Americans.
“America is the land of second chances,” Mr. Bevin, who was known as a Tea Party candidate, said in a debate in October.
Over the past two decades, more than 20 states have eased restrictions on voting by former prisoners, said Myrna Pérez, the director of the voting rights project at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. At the other extreme, convicted criminals in Maine and Vermont do not lose their franchise in the first place, and can cast ballots from …show more content…
The group welcomed the executive order as a major step in the right direction.
The Rev. Patrick Delahanty, who stepped down last year as the executive director of the Catholic Conference of Kentucky, a member of the coalition, said that the restoration of felons’ voting rights was part of the church’s vision of a fair justice system, and that it was important “to bring someone back into the community in a full way.”
Father Delahanty said he expected continued efforts in the Legislature to propose a change in the State Constitution, which bars felons from voting unless they receive a special pardon. Any such revision would need to be put to a popular vote, and if it passed, there would be no need for the executive order.
Advertisement
Continue reading the main