Dozens of people from Kentuckians for the Commonwealth and other advocacy groups say they’d like to see voting rights expanded for former felons. They held a rally in the capitol rotunda in Frankfort Tuesday.
Andre Wilson was one of the event’s speakers. He works with vulnerable people after spending time in prison himself.
“I've had eight or nine felons start their own construction business. I've had 10 or 12 people turn their life around. I've had other activists because of me want to do positive things, just leading by example,” Wilson said.
The group also helped those in attendance check their voting status. One such person was Bridget Mundy.
“I was trying to get my rights back, find out if I could get my rights back to vote, because I would like to vote. And I came down here and found out that I could vote because all my felonies are old, I haven't been in no more trouble,” Mundy said.
Kentucky is one of a small handful of states that keep felons from voting after their sentence, unless they’re pardoned by the governor or have their records expunged.
A 2019 executive order restored voting rights to more than 175,000 Kentuckians convicted of non-violent offenses.
But, those at the rally say they’d like to see those rights expanded further.
House Bill 773 was filed earlier this legislative session and would change Kentucky’s constitution to restore the voting rights of those convicted after their sentence. It didn’t make it out of committee.
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