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Monday, September 06, 2004

Law - More on Voting Rights of Felons

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports today, in a story headlined "Felons face tougher rules to regain right to vote: Fletcher changes draw criticism from some", that:

Concerned that past governors had restored voting rights to felons too easily, Gov. Ernie Fletcher has given prosecutors unprecedented power to reject applications. Fletcher also now requires felons who want to vote again to provide three character references and tell him in writing why they should be allowed to cast ballots.

Civil libertarians, voting rights advocates and some Democrats contend the policy adds unnecessary, time-consuming steps that could keep hundreds of felons away from the polls this year. A process that used to take less than a month now takes six weeks to three months.

John Roach, Fletcher's top lawyer, defended the policy, saying applications received little or no scrutiny under the former policy, and some felons were allowed to vote again even though they owed restitution to victims.

"It had certainly become an easy, pro forma exercise," Roach said. "But we felt it was appropriate for someone who is a felon — that the law said their civil rights were taken away — it wasn't too much to ask them to simply state in their own words why they wanted them to be restored and why they deserved it and to provide those references."

Under [Kentucky] state law, the governor decides whose rights to restore, but Roach said Fletcher's policy gives prosecutors more say in the decision than they had in the past. "We are relying heavily, if not almost exclusively, on the commonwealth attorneys and the fact that they know these individuals and have a much better feel of where the person is," Roach said.

Later in the story:
States handle civil rights restoration differently. Felons in Indiana lose the vote only while incarcerated. Tim Rusch, a spokesman for New York-based Demos, which advocates for voter access, said Kentucky is one of six states that do not have some form of automatic restoration of voting rights.

In Kentucky, only an order of the governor can restore those rights. Under the former policy, Kentucky felons had to fill out an application from the state Department of Corrections, and a parole officer would verify the sentence had been completed. The commonwealth's attorneys from where the felony was committed and in the applicant's home county were given a chance to object. The Fletcher administration has added steps.

An Indiana Law Blog entry from March 28th gives much more information and perspective on this issue. Particularly helpful is this NY Times graphic, described in entry as showing:
in progressive maps the number of states that prohibit felons from voting: (1) while in prison; (2) while on parole; (3) while on probation; (4) after sentence is completed, for certain types of felons; (5) after sentence is completed, for all felons. According to the graphic, the seven "states that prohibit felons from voting after their sentences are complete all have some sort of clemency process that can restore voting rights in some cases."

Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 6, 2004 11:58 AM
Posted to General Law Related