Kentuckians who served felony sentences can now check online about voting rights
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced a new website Wednesday that will allow about 152,000 people who have completed their sentences for non-violent felonies to determine if they’re now eligible to register to vote.
“My faith teaches me forgiveness — that we should welcome these Kentuckians back into our communities and allow them to fully participate in our democracy,” Beshear said at a Capitol news conference.
On his third day in office last Dec. 12, Beshear signed an executive order to restore the rights to vote and hold public office to Kentuckians who have completed their sentences for most non-violent felony crimes.
He said then that he expected the decision to affect more than 140,000 people. He said his administration has since identified more than 152,000 people who are eligible.
“With the launch of our new website, we are making sure these Kentuckians know they can register to vote,” said the Democratic governor.
At CivilRightsRestoration.ky.gov, Kentuckians can search to determine if their rights have been restored. If so, they are immediatley eligible to register to vote.
Beshear described the three-step process once on the website: enter a first and last name, enter a date of birth, verify the county of conviction or supervision. Then wait for the result that is displayed.
If the displayed result is inconclusive or if one does not have access to a computer, the person can call 502-782-9731 to get the information.
Beshear said the website does not include persons currently in custody or on supervision who will qualify upon completing their prison or supervision sentence.
Persons currently in custody or on supervision will be reviewed for automatic restoration prior to completion of their sentence and told if they qualify. If they don’t qualify, they will get an application to apply.
The deadline to register to vote in the upcoming May primary election is April 20. He encouraged people to register as soon as possible.
Beshear also said he would support a proposed constitutional amendment to restore voting rights of certain felons but only if it is “clean.” Some legislators say there should be a waiting period after sentences are completed before voting rights are restored.
Civil rights leader Raoul Cunningham joined Beshear at the news conference. He said the NAACP in Kentucky has been working for more than 10 years to gain voting rights for ex-offenders in the state.
“Now that we know that the governor’s office has built a database where folks can check and see whether their rights have been restored, we will do all we can to seek out those eligible and get them registered and to the polls,” said Cunningham. “We pledge to continue to fight for voting rights for all citizens.”
Justice Secretary Mary Noble, whose office set up the website and identified those eligible, said “if anything doesn’t work, we will fix it.”
