Kentucky lawmakers announce bills to restore voting rights and increase voter access

Chris Kenning
Courier Journal

Kentucky House Democrats announced Friday a renewed push for a constitutional amendment to automatically restore voting rights to most convicted felons after they complete their sentence and probation.

The bill to put the issue before voters next fall, sponsored by state Reps. Charles Booker of Louisville and George Brown Jr. of Lexington, is one of several prefiled measures aimed at boosting voter participation.

That included automatically registering most Kentuckians to vote when they apply for or renew a driver’s license and allowing residents to register on Election Day. The registration deadline for next week's Tuesday election was Oct. 7.

“Unfortunately, there are still too many unnecessary barriers that are keeping people from the polls," House Democratic Caucus Chair Derrick Graham of Frankfort said in a statement.

Less than one-third of registered voters in Kentucky are expected to turn out on Election Day with statewide offices including the governorship at stake, according to the secretary of state's most recent estimate.

In addition, Kentucky is one of only two states — Iowa the other — that permanently bar felons from voting unless they successfully petition the governor to restore their rights.

More:Officials say about 30% of registered voters in Kentucky will vote on Election Day

Locked out:Critics say it's time to end Kentucky's ban on felon voting

As a result, an estimated 312,000 Kentuckians — 9% of the population — can't vote because of a felony conviction.

That's the third-highest rate in the country, according to a 2016 report from the Sentencing Project.

"It’s time to reverse this harmful provision that dates back to our state constitution’s adoption in 1891. Let’s have Kentucky join the 48 other states that already do some version of what we’re proposing," Brown said in a statement. 

The outcome of the governor's race could mean Kentucky joins Virginia, which also imposes a lifetime voting ban on people with felony convictions, but where the state's recent governors have automatically restored those rights.

Related:Governor's race could decide whether 100K+ Kentuckians regain right to vote

Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Attorney General Andy Beshear has said that if he is elected, he would automatically restore voting rights to what could be nearly 140,000 convicted felons who have completed their sentences. 

Republican Gov. Matt Bevin, left, and Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear participate in a debate at the Singletary Center for the Arts on the University of Kentucky campus in Lexington, Ky., Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP, Pool)

Beshear's promised action mirrors the executive order issued by his father, former Gov. Steve Beshear, in his waning days in office, which restored voting rights for certain felons who had completed their sentences.

Republican Gov. Matt Bevin reversed that order less than a month later.

Bevin repeatedly has said any changes to the state's felony disenfranchisement laws should be done through a constitutional amendment.

And Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, the state Senate's majority floor leader, said recently that he would oppose any legislation that did not include a waiting period before a convicted felon's voting rights are restored.

"I'd like people to prove they can be a law-abiding member of society before they can vote," he said.

State Rep. Maria Sorolis of Louisville also prefiled bills that would allow in-person, early voting on the three Saturdays preceding an election and automatically register most Kentuckians to vote when they apply for or renew their driver’s license. 

The bills would also allow Kentuckians register to vote on Election Day and create area voting locations in counties with 90,000 or more people for voters who might be unable to make it to the voting location nearest their home address.

About 16 states have adopted automatic and Election Day voter registration policies, according to the Brennan Center at New York University. 

The next session of the state's General Assembly will begin in January. 

Reporter Chris Kenning can be reached at ckenning@gannett.com or 502-396-3361