Kentucky Votes Forum

Introduced in the House on January 8, 2008, to put a constitutional amendment on the 2008 ballot automatically restoring voting rights to certain convicted felons

The vote was 80 in favor, 14 opposed and 6 not voting

(House Roll Call 0 at House Journal 0)

Click here to view bill details.

If a person makes decisions which result in a felony conviction I do not want them deciding at the ballot box my future, my family's future or my state's future.

If someone does something stupid when they are 16, and are tried and convicted as an adult, should they be punished for the rest of their lives? It seems to me that if you make one dumb mistake as a youth, there should be a process to have your rights restored after a period of time. Everyone makes stupid mistakes when they are young. Some people make bigger mistakes than others. But if it's a property crime, and not a violent crime, why not let them vote after 10 or 20 years? This bill simply puts the issues to the voters. I think a good discussion on the issue might be something worth while out of Frankfort that doesn't even fleece the taxpayers.

After a person who has any felony records or conviction serves there time , they should have all the same legal rights and freedoms to VOTE as any other american citizen and voter as a legal right to vote has a right to have.

I THINK IF A CITZEN OF THE UNITED STATES HAS SERVED THIER TIME SHOULD HAVE VOTER RIGHTS. WE WANT THEM TO BE A RESPECTABLE PERSON IN SOCIETY AND WORK AND PAY TAXES THEY SHOULD HAVE A VOICE IF NOT THAT WOULD BE TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION

If we let these folks out of prison, are we not saying that they are rehabilitated and have paid their restitution? If that is the case, and we expect them to become good citizens again, how can they do that if they are not given full citizenship?

"Great Bill"

With all the important issues that need to be addressed in this state, why in the world would this Democrat representative be sponsoring legislation for the benefit of convicted felons? Who is this guy representing, law abiding citizens or law breakers? The real answer is that this is legislation aimed at benefiting only the Democrat Party. Studies show that convicted felons overwhelmingly vote for Democrats. Maybe its because these felons don't have jobs and also depend on Democrat legislation to give them free handouts that are paid for by law abiding tax payers. The sponsor of this bill should be replaced immediately for even sponsoring this embarrasing and partison bill.

It amazes me how ignorant people are when it comes to understanding the law. Someone can become a convicted felon just for stopping payment on a bad check if the amount is over $300 or more. What about the kid who gets arrested and convicted for drugs while in college or for stealing?? Yes, these are crimes and they are bad; I am in no way condoning bad behavior, but you and everyone else who has made a comment on here has a skeleton(s) or two in the closet. We have all done something that we regret, we have all broken the law, but we just didn't get caught. I think this bill should pass, BUT I do think careful thought and attention should be given to the offense, the time and circumstances surrounding what led to the person making a poor choice. Everyone keeps saying we hope prison rehabilitates people, but what a slap in the face not being able to find a decent job, or let your voice be heard through voting gets shot down because of mistake you made 5 or more years ago. As for felons voting for Democrats this is true, but it's not because there is a gaurantee of a handout. Let's face it..the majority of the felon population consist of minorites..how many Republican politicians do you see even making an effort to act like they remotely care about minorities...they know they already have the rich, racist, white suburbia in their backpocket. I doubt this bill will come to fruition simply because Kentucky has a reputation as being one of the most backwards and racist states in the U.S. so I wouldn't fret too much about this piece of legislation.

This looks like a great bill. Here's some more information. http://www.KFTC.org/restration

I love the "No Taxation Without Representation" quote below - that's dead-on. We've all done illegal things, whether we've been caught or not. Hell, if you stacked all of the times I've ever speeded together, they'd put me away for ten lifetimes. I know a lot of former felons, and I've heard that there are over 100,000 in KY. These are real people and they've served their time. Let's let them vote.

Once a person is convicted of a felony, there are some rights that shouldn't be restored. This is one of them. I don't want convicted felons making decisions that will affect my children and grandchildren anymore than I would want illegal immigrants making that decision. Studies show they vote for which ever candidate promises the most free handouts, and that is not responsible criteria for voting.

Absolutely - let them vote! I can't imagine taking someone's voting rights away forever for making a mistake early in life - like writing a bad check or getting caught on a drug charge. Besides, this bill is about allowing Kentuckians to vote on whether on not to change the constitution to allow former felons voting rights. Who could be against letting Kentucky Voters decide?!

Doesn't this bill amount to a poll tax? What about non-violent offenders, especially cannabis users? The state spends $269 million a year incarcerating substance users. And cannabis is not even a drug. It's a cannabinoid--always has been, always will be. Laws do not change a substances nature.

(Responding to David Dunn) No, no - this isn't a poll tax. I think you're looking at the unfriendly amendment that Comer tried to put on the bill that would make former felons pay to get their voting rights back. That floor amendment was defeated.