Testimony for HB 70
Thank the committee. Promise to be brief.
I represent the 4 Roman Catholic Bishops of Kentucky. I have testified on this issue several
times. Today I want to focus on our concern that our justice system must maintain a high standard
of consistency in order to assure citizens that people are treated fairly and not in a way that is
arbtrary or driven by factors such as race.
When the four versions of the Ky Constitution were drafted our population was significantly fewer
in number; there was no prison system, and the criminal code included far fewer felonies. To
expect a person to request from the governor a restoration of the right to vote was reasonable.
That process worked well in the past. Now we have a vast prison system filled with thousands of
prisoners and an array of felonious acts that our ancestors could never have anticipated. A
governor today would spend his entire time in office reviewing and signing applications if the
thousands of eligible ex-offenders requested this partial pardon.
Because the act of voting is so central to fulfilling one's duty as a citizen, we need a new
process by which this right is restored to former felons. All this bill does is allow the people
of Kentucky to decide whether or not to establish that new process. Rather than rely on a process
that is open to the arbitrary granting of voting rights to some former felons and not others by
one governor to the next and rather than keeping in place a system that has led to the
disenfranchisement of more than 200,000 persons, Kentucky voters will have the opportunity to put
in place a process that has bright lines.
If approved, the right to vote will be restored automatically to all those who have fully
completed the sentences imposed on them by the court - served their time, completed probation,
finished parole, and paid any restitution owed. This automatic restoration will not extend to
those who commit the crimes cited in HB 70.
This change in our Constitution will draw clear boundaries that remove the possibility of
arbitrary decision-making. This change will eliminate the possibility that race or other factors,
intended or unintended, will play a role in restoring the right to vote to former offenders.
This change in our Constitution will ensure consistency in application and assure Kentuckians they
are living under a rule of law implemented by our institutions that is credible and deserving of
our trust.
Thank you.
