Kentucky has barred more than 158,000 of its residents from voting.
Most have previous felony convictions and despite a 2019 executive order by Gov. Andy Beshear restoring the voting rights of some Kentuckians with past felonies, the Commonwealth still denies the right to vote to more prior felons than nearly any other state.
Debra Graner, a voting rights advocate for Kentuckians for the Commonwealth and the Kentucky League of Women Voters, said people reentering society have done their time and should be allowed to participate in civic life.
"This is about second chances and trying to feel whole and be a good citizen again," Graner stressed. "Voting is one of our rights. To disenfranchise people, it’s just a hurtful thing."
Some Kentucky lawmakers have said they will sponsor 2026 legislation to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot and let voters decide if voting rights should be restored to people with certain felony convictions. The state’s voting ban for people on felony probation or parole, as well as for people who have completed their sentence, is driving up the state’s disenfranchisement numbers, according to the Sentencing Project.
Although Graner supports putting the issue to a vote via constitutional amendment, she is worried the public may not understand how deeply disenfranchisement affects communities.
"A lot of people are going to automatically go, 'No, why would I want a criminal to vote?'" Graner acknowledged. "That's the big thrust for me, is getting the public to understand the situation that we're in."
Residents with previous felony convictions who have questions about their voting status can visit CivilRightsRestoration.KY.gov for information on whether they can still vote.
KY advocates continue to push for felony voting rights restoration was first published on Public News Service and was republished with permission.
Nadia Ramlagan is a producer with Public News Service. She covers the Ohio Valley and Appalachian region for Public News Service (Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia).
