Restoration Of Voting Rights

Please join me in supporting Raoul Cunningham and the NAACP in their efforts ensure passage of House Bill 480 automatically restoring voting rights to former felons. Below is a letter Raoul sent to the Kentucky General Assembly recently.

Angela Lee Price
Founder
Jesus Saves Ministries


By: Raoul Cunningham

Today, Kentucky remains one of three states that does not have some form of automatic restoration of voting rights for former convicted felons who have completed their sentence and made full restitution. The provision denying felons the right to vote has been in place since the adoption of Kentucky’s first Constitution in 1792.

In 2001, the General Assembly passed legislation, KRS 196.045, requiring the Department of Corrections “to implement a simplified process for the restoration of civil rights to eligible felony offenders.” During the past several years, there has been a steady decline in the number of restorations granted. In the 2003 fiscal year, 1,231 Kentuckians had their rights restored. In the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2005, the number dropped to 464.

House Bill 480 will automatically restore voting rights to felony offenders.

The Louisville Branch NAACP is asking that you whole heartedly support HB 480.

Voting is a fundamental right of democracy and should not continue to be denied to the more than 145,000 Kentucky felon offenders who have paid their debt to society.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Raoul Cunningham, President

Louisville Branch NAACP

This letter was sent from the Louisville Branch to members of the General Assembly in support of Restoration of Voting Rights to former felons, and was published in the NAACP Newsletter, March 2006.