The House Education Committee today approved a bill that would give Kentucky voters a chance to decide whether most convicted felons could have their voting rights restored. The measure sponsored by Representative Jesse Crenshaw calls for a constitutional amendment establishing a process for just that, after felons have paid their debt to society. Ex-cons are not permitted to vote in Kentucky today unless they successfully petition the governor.
Father Patrick Delahanty is executive director of the Catholic Conference of Kentucky. He testified for the legislation…
Father Delahanty says more than 200,000 Kentuckians are disenfranchised under current law. If the proposed constitutional amendment is approved, those felons could have their voting rights restored unless they were convicted of intentional murder, rape, sodomy or a sex offense involving a minor.