The Independent View: KY Leads Nation in Disenfranchising Black Voters

Civil Rights Attorney and Legal Scholar Michelle Alexander writes about Mass Incarceration as the new Jim Crow.

In her Book of the same name, Alexander details how America’s Criminal Justice system Functions as a de facto Racial Caste Structure, not only Imprisoning Millions of Black People, but also Denying their Rights as Full Citizens. One of these Important Rights is the ability to Vote. All across the Country, there are Blacks who are Banned from Voting due to Felony Convictions.

In Kentucky, this is a Major Problem. One out of every Four Black Voters is Ineligible to Vote, the Highest Rate in the Country. Overall in the State, there are more than 312,000 People without Access to the Ballot, which Translates to One out of every 11 Adults.

Kentucky is One of Three States, Iowa and Virginia, that currently has a Lifetime Ban keeping People with Felony Convictions, when becoming Returning Citizens, from voting, and a recent Report, from the Kentucky League of Women Voters, found that the State Ranks Third in the United States in Rate of Disenfranchisement.

These State have Bans Determined by Type of Crime or Processes that make it Hard to get Your Vote Back:

Alabama
Delaware
Mississippi
Nevada
Tennessee
Wyoming

Three years ago, State Lawmakers Passed a Bill that Returned Voting Rights to Some Former Felons with Low-Level Convictions. It requires that their Convictions be Expunged First, a Process that comes with a $500 Fee. This is one of the most Expensive Expungement Fees in the Country, and a Poll Tax. Unsurprisingly, this has Not proven widely successful. According to the Kentucky League of Women Voters, only 2,032 Voters have had their Rights Restored through this Law.

This is Unfair and a Violation of Civil Rights. Felon Disenfranchisement only Serves to Punish the formerly Incarcerated Multiple times.

Once a Person has Served the required Time and been Released, they should be Allowed to Fully Participate in Society. Yet upon Release, former Felons often find it hard to access:

- Jobs
- Training
- Education
- Stable Employment
- Housing
- Other Necessary Services

This makes it hard to Live and contributes to High Rates of Recidivism. Finally, under these Archaic Laws, they are also often Barred from Participating in Voting, one of the most Basic and Fundamental Rights of our Democracy.

It is not accidental that so many of these Felons are Black People. The system is doing what is was designed to do. As Michelle Alexander notes, “These are Tactics that are Aligned with the Goals of the Founding Fathers of our Nation, men who did not truly believe in the Equality of All People.” In her Book’s introduction, Alexander writes, “Denying African Americans citizenship was deemed essential to the formation of the original union. Hundreds of years later, America is still not an egalitarian democracy.”