Kentucky Should Join the Majority of States and Restore Voting for all Ex-Convicts.

Blog Post | 111 KY. L. J. ONLINE | April 20, 2023

Kentucky Should Join the Majority of States and Restore Voting for all Ex-Convicts.

By: Claire E. Sandberg, Staff Editor, Vol. 111

In the last several years, the United States has experienced an increase in voter turnout, as evidenced by the historically high participation in the most recent presidential election.[1] It seems that Americans recognize the importance of this patriotic duty now more than ever. While it is encouraging to see a surge in active voters, many individuals are still unable to participate. The basic restrictions on voting, like age and citizenship status, are widely-known, but some may be surprised to learn that one’s criminal record may result in disenfranchisement. While upon first blush it may seem reasonable to take the right to vote away from someone who has been convicted of a crime, it nonetheless takes away an important democratic right, potentially invoking a lifetime punishment with little justification.

States have the ability to pass laws that restrict voting rights, and several use this as an additional punishment on people who have been convicted of a crime.[2] Disenfranchisement laws range in extremes, from never allowing an ex-felon to vote to allowing one to vote while still incarcerated.[3]

Those who support restoring voting rights to all ex-convicts[4] may argue that, by completing the requirements of their sentence, these individuals have sufficiently paid their debt to society and should not experience permanent residual punishment by way of their right to vote. What’s more, restoring the right to vote can aid in the reintegration process as it can help foster a sense of belonging and buy-in to the wellness of the community.[5] Finally, allowing all ex-felons to vote can help to expand the number of eligible voters in historically underrepresented groups who are disproportionately impacted by mass incarceration.[6]

Some argue that taking away an ex-felon’s right to vote is an appropriate punishment: if one ignores laws, one should not get a say in who becomes the law-makers.[7] Others argue for a compromise, saying that we should only take the right to vote away from people who have committed violent felonies and/or voter fraud, as this only excludes individuals to whom we should never entrust democracy.[8] In sum, many people who are against reinstating ex-felons’ right to vote reason that voting determines the future, and if one unfairly “plays God” through deceit or violence, one should no longer be permitted to determine our future through voting.

A recent, high-profile example showcases why this argument is moot: former President Donald Trump may be elected President in the upcoming election even if he is convicted of the crimes for which he was indicted.[9] Most of these charges are felonies related to hush-money paid out during his initial run for presidency.[10] Imagine if Trump were a Kentuckian: he would likely be ineligible to vote in the next presidential election, but he would still be able to run.[11] If we give ex-convicts an opportunity to lead our country, it would be silly to take away their opportunity to vote for said leader.

While most states fall on the more forgiving end of the spectrum and restore voting rights to all individuals who have been released from incarceration, Kentucky does not follow suit.[12]

For many years, Kentucky was one of the few states who invoked a lifetime voting ban on all ex-felons.[13] In 2019, as one of his first acts in office, Governor Andy Beshear signed an executive order that opened voting rights for many disenfranchised ex-felons in Kentucky.[14] While this order was a step in the right direction, many people remain disenfranchised due to their prior convictions, as the executive order only covers specific non-violent felonies. Those individuals may only have their rights restored after completing their sentencing and all terms of their probationary period. Because the order did not apply to all ex-convicts, Kentucky is still one of only nine states that puts people at risk of permanently losing the right to vote.[15] There are currently over 150,000 Kentuckians who are still disenfranchised due to a felony conviction.[16] Black Kentuckians are disproportionately impacted, as eighteen percent of disenfranchised ex-felons in Kentucky are Black yet only nine percent of the Commonwealth’s population is Black.[17] Too many voices that should be heard are instead being silenced.

Kentucky should not stop at the historic step Governor Beshear took nearly four years ago and, instead, should keep moving towards allowing all ex-convicts to vote.

[1] Press Release CB21-TPS.49, U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Presidential Election Voting and Registration Tables Now Available (Apr. 29, 2021), https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2021/2020-presidential-election-voting-and-registration-tables-now-available.html.

[2] Christopher Uggen, Ryan Larson, Sarah Shannon, & Robert Stewart, Locked Out 2022: Estimates of People Denied Voting Rights, The Sentencing Project (Oct. 25, 2022), https://www.sentencingproject.org/reports/locked-out-2022-estimates-of-people-denied-voting-rights/.

[3] State Voting Laws & Policies for People with Felony Convictions, Britannica ProCon.org (Apr. 10, 2023), https://felonvoting.procon.org/state-felon-voting-laws/.

[4] Note that this blog uses the “ex-felon” to refer to someone who has been convicted of a felony and “ex-convict” to refer to a person who has been convicted in general.

[5] Kentucky Bars Over 152,000 Citizens from Voting, The Sentencing Project, https://www.sentencingproject.org/app/uploads/2023/01/Kentucky-Voting-Rights-for-People-with-Felony-Convictions.pdf.

[6] See, e.g., Ky. Advisory Comm. to U.S. Comm’n. on C.R., Voting Rights in Kentucky (Sept. 2009), https://www.usccr.gov/files/pubs/docs/KYVotingRightsReport.pdf

[7] Roger Clegg, If You Can’t Follow Laws, You Shouldn’t Help Make Them, N.Y. Times (Apr. 22, 2016), https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/04/22/should-felons-ever-be-allowed-to-vote/if-you-cant-follow-laws-you-shouldnt-help-make-them.

[8] Should People who Have Completed Felony Sentences be Allowed to Vote?, Britannica ProCon.org, (Aug. 9, 2021), https://felonvoting.procon.org/.

[9] Laura Romero, Trump Could Still be Elected President Despite Indictment, Experts say, ABC News (Mar. 30, 2023), https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-elected-president-indicted-convicted-experts/story?id=97688250.

[10] Anthony Zurcher, What are 34 Felony Charges Against Trump, and What do They Reveal?, BBC (Apr. 5, 2023), https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65181178 (citing Indictment, New York v. Trump, IND-71543-23 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2023), https://www.manhattanda.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Donald-J.-Trump-Indictment.pdf).

[11] Romero, supra note 9 (discussing the fact that there are only three qualifications one must meet before becoming president: the individual must be at least thirty-five years old, a natural born citizen, and a resident of the United States for at least fourteen years. The individual also “can’t have been twice elected president previously” under the twenty-second Amendment.).

[12] State Voting Laws & Policies for People with Felony Convictions, supra note 3.

[13] Voting Rights in Kentucky, supra note 6 at 2.

[14] Ky. Exec. Order No. 2019-003 (Dec. 12, 2019) https://web.sos.ky.gov/execjournalimages/2020-MISC-2019-0003-265162.pdf.

[15] State Voting Laws & Policies for People with Felony Convictions, supra note 3.

[16] Uggen, supra note 2.

[17] Kentucky Bars Over 152,000 Citizens from Voting, supra note 5.