Current law
Our Kentucky Constitution (Section 145) prohibits people from voting for the rest of their lives when convicted of a felony unless they receive a pardon or the felony is expunged. December 12, 2019, the Governor issued an Executive Order restoring the right to vote to 175,000 people. As of 2021, 197,672 Kentuckians remain disenfranchised.

KY is an outlier
Only 3 states (Kentucky, Iowa, Virginia) ban persons who have completed their sentence from voting. Kentucky ranks at the bottom nationally for restoring voting rights with the 4th highest rate of disenfranchisement (5.92%). Kentucky has the 7th highest rate (15.1%) of disenfranchisement of African-Americans in the nation – 38,665 of 256,024, meaning that this issue disproportionately affects people of color.

Kentuckians want a permanent change in our state Constitution
Kentuckians support a constitutional amendment by a 2-1 margin across all demographics and political parties. Furthermore, Kentuckians who support the automatic restoration of voting rights has been steadily increasing. A 2006 poll by the UK Research Center reported a majority of Kentuckians support automatic voting rights restoration, with 56% approving. Statewide surveys by Mason Dixon Polling & Strategy, Inc. reveal approval among Kentuckians has increased from 66% in their 2018 poll to 67% in the 2021 poll.

Civic engagement
We can help thousands of Kentuckians increase their civic engagement and advance our democracy by changing our Constitution.

Take Action to Let Kentuckians Decide!

Call your legislators at 800-372-7181 and ask them to SUPPORT SB 223, which places a constitutional amendment on the ballot allowing Kentuckians to decide whether voting rights should be automatically restored.