Kentucky League of Women Voters

At convention, we formally adopted two studies:
A study of the federal role in public education. The study will focus on the role of federal government in education policymaking, with possible consideration of funding, common standards and/or governance relationships among all levels of government.
A study on privatization: The policy agenda to transfer government functions, services, and assets to the private sector.
The convention adopted by concurrence the following positions:
An updated arms control position.
We added this statement to the position on the selection of the president: “We support the use of the National Popular Vote Compact as one acceptable way to achieve the goal of the direct popular vote for election of the president until the abolition of the Electoral College is accomplished.”
“The LWVUS supports legislation to equalize the legal rights, obligations, and benefits available to same-gender couples to marry under civil law. The League believes that the civil status of marriage is already clearly distinguished from the religious institution of marriage and that religious rights will be preserved.”
To read our entire report from the National Convention, held in Atlanta in June, please access our Summer 2010 e-Voter under the tab entitled “NEWSLETTERS.”

The Summer 2010 e-Voter newsletter is now posted to our website. You can check it out here and find back issues of the e-Voter here.

House Bill 70, which allows a change in the Kentucky Constitution to permit former felons to automatically have their right to vote returned to them as soon as they pay their debt to society, did not become law this past session.  Even though the bill passed the House with little trouble, it never got a hearing in the Senate.  This happened to many worthwhile bills.  Time ran out and the session ended.  Our coalition, which supports automatically giving back the right to vote to former felons who have paid their debt to society, is already making plans for the next legislative session.  We hope to have a new version of HB 70 ready for the next legislative session.  

However, if you are former felon and do not want to wait for the Kentucky legislature to act, you can apply for a partial pardon from the Governor under the law as it reads today, by first requesting restoration of your civil rights.  This is done by filling out a one-page form, sent to you by the Division of Probation and Parole.  The addrss is: Department of Corrections, Division of Probation & Parole, PO Box 2400, Frankfort, KY 40602-2400.  Attn: Restoration of Civil Rights.  It takes about two months for processing.  The former felon will get a certificate in the mail, which states that he/she has his/her right tovote restored plus a voter registration card.  When the voter registration card is filled out and sent to the County Clerk of the district in which the former felon lives, he/she can vote.

Representative Ruth Ann Palumbo introduced a Resolution in the House, which celebrates the 90th anniversary of the League of Women Voters in Kentucky.  It was read on March 10 in the House chamber.  Nita Smith and Terry Naydan, Co-Presidents of the League of Women Voters of Kentucky, were in attendance when the Resolution was read by the clerk of the House.  The resolution read:

A RESOLUTION congratulating the League of Women Voters on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of founding, and adjourning the House of Representatives in its honor:

WHEREAS,  the League of Women Voters was founded in 1920, mere months before the Nineteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution was ratified, and women across the nation gained the right of suffrage; and

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