In an attempt to share more of the stories from former felons across the Commonwealth, we’re presenting a series of short interviews every few weeks on our blog and in balancing the scales.

"I'm a veteran of 9 years in the US Army infantry.
My dad was in the military and I grew up on army bases...  Both my grandfathers served in the military too." 

But despite this service and more, James Snyder does not have the right to vote here in Kentucky. 

"I pay taxes, but I'm not represented.  Effectively, I'm not a citizen because citizenship means having a voice in government through the ballot box.  It just doesn't seem right to me."

James has lived in Illinois for the last few years, working as a deputy voter registrar for the board of elections in Illinois - helping people register and vote.  And when he lived there, of course, he could vote.  Kentucky is one of just 4 states that take away voting rights from all former felons even after they've served their debt to society. 

"My parents aren't doing so well, so I'm back in Kentucky to take care of them and help around the house.  Because I'm on this side of the border of Illinois, I can't vote."

"The most recent of my two felony convictions is over 14 years old and neither of them are from Kentucky.  In fact, if I lived in either of those states, they recognize that I've served my debt to society and I could vote there."

Even with substantial political ties, James found it hard to know if he even had the right to vote in Kentucky.

"I talked to a few different lawyers and I got conflicting answers.  Frankly, I could have gotten away with registering and voting because Kentucky would be unlikely to compare lists with other states, but credibility is important to me, so I spent a lot of effort to understand whether or not I have the right to vote here.  It seems I don't."

As a Scott County resident, James Snyder's own Senator is Damon Thayer, the legislator who has prevented HB 70 from coming up for a vote in recent years in his Senate State and Local Government Committee.  

Snyder joined KFTC for his first citizen lobby day in Frankfort a few days ago and is looking forward to talking to Thayer in person. 

"I served my country, with due respect, more than any legislator I see that's standing in the way of this legislation.  And I served my time for what I've done wrong too.  The right thing to do would be to let me and others like me to vote." 

"It renders moot the idea that "if you don't vote, you can't complain."  I'm complaining because I can't vote."

James is doing better than that - networking with people in Scott County through KFTC and otherwise to gain voting rights for former felons and for a host of other issues he cares about too. 

"I can join in politics in other ways - and I do because it's important to me- but not being able to vote sure does make it harder."

We've gotten some good media coverage in recent days including a strong editorial in support of HB 70 in the Courier Journal, and a good story, also in the Courier, that included an interview of KFTC member and former felon spokesperson Jason Smith. 

These pieces, plus a similar editorial in the Herald-Leader, are good on balance, but problematic in that they try to reduce the fight to Democrat vs. Republican or Conservative vs. Liberal. 

Many strong supporters of HB 70 are Republicans - including former felon spokespeople, co-sponsoring legislators, and legislators in both chambers who support the bill.  The people preventing it from being voted on are just a handful of Senate leaders like Sen David Williams and Sen Damon Thayer.  

So we'll have to try hard to challenge this kind of narrative in the media and in the public. 

Also of note in the Courier Journal article is an indication from David Williams' office that HB 70 might be assigned to Senate Judiciary instead of to State and Local Government.   This may or may not be true

For the time being, though, our bill is still in the House awaiting a vote on the House floor.  Until it passes, it's likely to attract unfriendly amendments to make the bill less effective. 

We need you to call in as soon as possible to build the support we need to pass the House!

Please call the the toll-free Legislative Message Line at 1-800-372-7181 and leave a message for your Senator and Representative, plus "House Leadership."

A simple message like "Please pass HB 70 with no floor amendments" works fine. 

You can call back later and also leave messages for groups like "Senate Leadership" "members of Senate Judiciary" and "members of the Senate State and Local Government Committee."

For them, a message like "Please support HB 70" works.

It just takes a couple of minutes and that will leave a message for many key legislators all at once. 

The Message line is open 7 a.m. until 11 p.m. Monday-Thursday and until 6 p.m. on Friday.

And finally, our big Voting Rights Lobby Day and Rally for March 8th.  Spread the word!

There has been some movement on the redistricting issue in Kentucky these past few days.  Here's a quick update to fill in some of the broad details. 

Republican Minority Leader Jeff Hoover filed an injunction in Franklin Circuit Court to push back the filing deadline in light of the possibly illegal and partisan redistricting.  Senator Kathy Stein joined the lawsuit, then Judge Phillip Shepherd heard the case earlier today and said that he will make a decision before the end of the day tomorrow... which is also the (tentative) deadline to file for office.

In other news, Kentucky House an Senate members have still been unable to agree on a plan for Congressional redistricting which will move back the filing deadline, at least for those offices.  In any event, this casts substantial doubt on Governor Steve Beshear's claim that he was only signing the state house and senate redistricting into law because the impending and at the time apparently immovable deadline was hanging over his head. 

In other news, several legislators have filed separate legislation to make the redistricting process less partisan, more transparent, and more reasonable than it has been this year. 

And finally, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Council has stepped forward with a resolution expressing concern with the redistricting and the loss of Lexington senator Kathy Stein.  A resolution has no legal weight, but it matters.  During our first rally in Lexington on this issue, our primary action was to ask people to contact the mayor and city council to do just this, so they deserve our kudos. 

Here are some good quotes from the Herald-Leader article. 

Councilman Jay McChord said he was "sick and tired of Lexington looking weak, acting weak" at the state level. "If they don't like it up there, so be it. Maybe it is time to send somebody else up there," he said.

Councilman Chris Ford said when an action by Frankfort legislators "harms the citizens of Fayette County, we should stand up and speak."

"This is classic gerrymandering," said council member Julian Beard. "I don't think we should duck our head and go quietly into the night."

Council Members K.C. Crosby, Bill Farmer, and  Ed Lane voted against the resolution and Council Member Diane Lawless was not present for the vote.  All 11 other council members voted yes in favor of the resolution. 

If you're a Lexington resident, please contact your city council member and thank them for voting yes if they did, or express concern if they voted no.  Remember that Vice Mayor Linda Gorton, and Council At-Large members Steve Kay and Chuck Ellinger all represent everyone in Lexington.  So they're your council members too.

_________________________________

2/1/12 Update - Judge delays filing deadline for state legislative candidates to Feb 7th.   This creates space for the Franklin Circuit court to take further action by that time, possibly declaring the redistricting to be illegal and asking the legislature to try again or taking some other action to intervene.  We'll know more by the end of the day on Feb 7th.    

2/2/12 Update - House, Senate appear close on congressional redistricting plan.  There has been some movement on the Congressional redistricting plan too.  Note that this is separate from the state legislature plan at issue above.  We're still waiting for the Franklin Circuit Court ruling by Feb 7th on that one.  In the mean time, you can take a moment to write a letter to the editor to let your community know how you feel about these partisan redistricting plans.

2/6/12 Update - Judge says he will rule in a day or two on legislative redistricting.  We might know something tomorrow or the filing deadline might get pushed back a little more. 

Members and allies at a voting rights rally in Lexington this past December

Our restoration of voting rights amendment is on the move. Just last week House Bill 70 was voted out of committee with bipartisan support by a wide margin of 7-1. We expect the bill to come up for a full vote before the Kentucky House of Representatives any day now. In order to ensure we get the supermajority needed to pass this bill, we need your help.

Kentucky is one of only four states that permanently takes away voting rights from all former felons, even after they've served their debt to society. This directly impacts over 186,000 Kentuckians, including 1 in 4 voting age African-Americans. KFTC believes in restoring the right to vote to these citizens because is is the fair, democratic, and reasonable thing to do.

Take Action!

Do you have three minutes to make a call to help pass HB70?

Call the Legislative Message Line (1-800-372-7181) as soon as you can, and ask to leave a message for some legislators. The line is open 7am to 11pm on weekdays and until 6pm on Fridays. The operator will ask for your name and address.

Ask to leave the message for "House Leadership, Senate Leadership, Senate State and Local Government Committee,” and your own Representative and Senator (if you don’t know who that is, the operator can tell you).

Message: "Please vote yes on House Bill 70."

Thank you for taking action!

Return voting rights to ex-felons

Herald-Leader

The Kentucky House of Representatives is once again acting favorably on a proposal (HB 70) by Rep. Jesse Crenshaw, D-Lexington, to amend the state constitution to automatically restore voting rights to non-violent felons who have paid their assigned debt to society.

Remarkably, each time in recent years this measure has passed out of the House it has stopped dead in the Senate.

This is a good year to change that pattern. We are, after all, witnessing one of the great political processes as the presidential campaign unfolds before our very eyes.

There is a lot of debate these days about the role of government in our lives, but does anyone really think it should be government's task to prevent people from voting?

Kentucky is one of only a handful of states in which a felony conviction carries with it a lifetime loss of voting rights.

Under our constitution, it's up to the governor to restore that right to people who have served their time. With most governors it's fairly routine to restore rights to people who ask after they've finished their time with the Department of Corrections.

But not always.

Former Governor Ernie Fletcher, for example, required people to write an essay and get three letters of recommendation before he'd even consider restoring an individual's voting rights.

Why, you might wonder, is this even an issue? Why not put a proposed amendment on the ballot and let those of us who can vote decide?

It's really basic political math. A 2006 Kentucky League of Women Voters study found that one in four Kentucky black adults is banned from the polls by this policy. Blacks are much more likely to vote for Democratic candidates and so the Republican-controlled Senate (and the former Republican governor) are not motivated to increase their numbers at the polls.

That's just wrong. Released felons are set free to participate in society, including paying taxes, and so they should be able to participate in one of the most fundamental of our citizenship rights — voting.

It's that simple.

KFTC appreciates the support of HB 70 in this editorial, but we also point out that many strong supporters of HB 70 are Republicans - including former felon spokespeople, co-sponsoring legislators, and legislators in both chambers who support the bill.  The people preventing it from being voted on are just a handful of Senate leaders like Sen David Williams and Sen Damon Thayer.  

And in other Voting Rights news, we've had a good continuous presence in Frankfort talking to legislators, plus field events like this presentation to UK NAACP earlier this week.  KFTC leader and former felon Tayna Fogle talked to almost 40 students, inviting them to take action by phone or by joining us in Frankfort.  We look forward to working with the UK NAACP more soon

KFTC members and allies in Frankfort today had an eventful day with a lot of twists and turns. 

At 8:30 a.m., House Bill 70, our bill to restore voting rights for former felons who have served their debt to society, came up in front it its House committee.  We had a room full of supporters and people ready to testify, but instead, the committee quickly called the issue to a vote and passed it nearly unanimously with just one dissenting vote. The hearing adjourned about 6 minutes after it started.  

We spent the rest of the day meeting with legislators in the House and Senate about HB 70 and also had a number of accountability conversations with the many legislators who voted yes on the House and Senate redistricting plans, respectively. 

Jason Smith, a new citizen lobbyist and a former felon got to tell his story to a couple of legislators throughout the day, including Republican Representative Kevin Bratcher who talked to him for 30 minutes and voted yes on the bill that morning.  

We also held signs to legislators in key areas with messages like "They stole my Senator" and "This is why the people of Kentucky don't trust the legislature."

After that, we held a small but effective rally on the capitol steps speaking out against the redistricting plan.  About 35 people came out and we managed to get good media coverage and gave people a chance to speak their frustrations and let the legislature know that they need to do better.

Then, some KFTC members and allies visited the House and Senate chambers and witnessed Sen. Kathy Stein giving a powerful speech against the Senate redistricting plan, sparring with Senate leadership. 

And as we were headed out of the Capitol, many of our members witnessed an altercation in the hallway that we're still trying to understand.

With redistricting in the House and Senate complete, at least excepting the possibility of a legal injunction, it might be important to know who your new Senator and Representative is so you know who you can most effectively lobby in the legislature.

These aren't the best maps, but you can click on them or click here to get a better look at the districts, then cross reference the numbers with the district numbers of legislators in the House and Senate. 

They're still very hard to read in smaller urban districts, but the Legislative Research Center hopes to have better maps up online within the next few days.

Of course, KFTC is still none too pleased with the partisan, and vindictive redistricting process that has led to these maps and we're holding a Rally in Frankfort on the Capitol steps tomorrow at 2pm to take some of this deep disappointment to the legislators and to the Governor.

Just one week from tomorrow, January 31st at 4pm, is the deadline to file nomination papers for candidates who must run in primary (largely, people running as a Democrat or Republican for most races).

If the partisan and insane redistricting that just passed tells us anything, it should be that we need better candidates for public office - and that might be you or someone you know.

Think about it.

*Really*

The legislature has set the maps for state Senate and House districts (albeit in a mean and partisan fashion), so with some research, you can now be fairly sure of at least what district you live in and what its shape is (unless you're planning on running for US Congress - those boundaries are still taking shape).

Your local County Clerk should be able to tell you what district you're in.

This year, there are a lot of positions up for election - US House, Kentucky House, half of the Kentucky Senate, half of local School Boards, half of mayors, and most city councils.

If you're interested, you can visit this guide to Becoming a Candidate to learn more about qualifications and how to file. 

You can even check online to see who has already filed, but painfully few people have.  Most sitting legislators have no opposition and some positions have no candidates at all, with just 8 days left to file.  You could change that. 

So think about it.

Today, KFTC members, Occupy Lexington activists, and many others gathered in downtown Lexington to speak out against the irrational and undemocratic redistricting process that leaves them without a duly elected Senator until 2014.

Despite only having about 48 hours to organize the event, it was a great success, with 125 enthusiastic people attending. 

Whereas the rally was focused on this particular Senate district, participants broadly recognized that the redistricting plans out of both the Democrat-controlled House and the Republican-controlled Senate were unjust, hopelessly partisan and against the ideals we expect legislators to hold themselves to in the redistricting process.

Even Sen Dorsey Ridley, Lexington's new Senator, came 200 miles to attend, letting everyone know that the same process that has left us without a duly elected senator has stolen him from his former constituents in Western KY.

There were a lot of TV news cameras and reporters at the event, so expect to see more updates on this blog and elsewhere over the next few days.

Action Steps

Next up, we plan on taking this rally to Frankfort! - on Tuesday, Jan 24th

Who: You, Lexington Residents, Supporters of Democracy
What: Protest the disenfranchisement of Lexington
Where: Frankfort, KY Capitol Building and Annex
When: Tuesday January 24th
Why: Because your right to vote on who represents you is a fundamental part of American Democracy!

There will be a hearing at 8:30am in the Capital Annex for a bill to restore voting rights for former felons who have served their debt to society.  It's a separate issue, but would be good to come out in solidarity with them. 

After that, we'll be a physical presence in Frankfort throughout the day with small signs, stickers, etc. putting pressure on all the legislators who sacrificed Lexington. 

Rally at 2pm on the Capitol Steps!


At the rally, we also asked people to call upon Mayor Jim Gray to come out in support of our city and condemn this redistricting.

Contact-Office of the Mayor
200 E. Main Street
Lexington, KY 40507
Office: (859) 258-3100
Fax: (859) 258-3194
mayor@lexingtonky.gov

    

Tayna Fogle just finished speaking about Voting Rights and the General Assembly on Key Conversations, WGVN 1580AM, in Lexington.

A lot of the focus of the conversation was on letting people know that they can influence the General Assembly by joining us in Frankfort, calling the legislative message line (1800-372-7181), or wrigint their legislators.

We also invited everyone to join us on the Voting Rights Lobby Day on March 8th. 

The program will air at 10a.m. this morning on WGVN 1580AM and will re-air next Sunday, Jan. 29th at 6 a.m.

We also got to talk to the hosts about this afternoon's rally against the insane redistricting plan at 4pm.