Spink.

>> Under the Kentucky Constitution, convicted felons lose their right to vote.

Members of the League of Women Voters of Kentucky are working for automatic restoration of voting rights for certain nonviolent offenders.

Today, the group heard from people who've lost their right to vote, including the executive director of the Kentucky Council of Churches, who he claims is, quote, a second class citizen.

>> I was a prisoner, and I served my sentence and was released, and my sentence continues on beyond the sentence that the judiciary gave me, which was 14 to 42 years.

And that sentence is now 33 and almost 34 years ongoing, which includes that I cannot vote.

Now, if we have rights and they can be taken away, they're not rights.

They're selectively granted privileges by people in positions of power.

And these aren't questions of Partizan politics.

They're questions of justice and morality.

>> The Sentencing Project is a national research and advocacy project based out of Washington, D.C.

the group has partnered with the league for more than 20 years.

Today, they said restoring voting rights is important.

They believe for democracy.

>> Research shows that civic participation, including voting, is linked to lower recidivism rates or returns to prison.

When people feel invested in their communities, they feel heard and represented, they are more likely to remain engaged in positive ways, and restoration of voting is just not morally sound.

It is smart public safety, public policy that can strengthen community safety and hopefully for lawmakers that use rhetoric like we want to keep our community safe, we want, you know, people have to pay their debt.

And because of the crime they committed, they don't deserve the right to participate in the laws that govern them.

Well, if they are true to their word and they want to keep communities safe, the evidence suggests that keeping people engaged in their community helps prevent future returns to prison.

Future law breaking and voting is fundamental to expressing that civic involvement and community belonging.

It is short sighted from a community safety perspective to continue to exclude tens of thousands of Kentuckians from the democratic process.

>> House Bill 420 and Senate Bill 80 both address the restoration of voting rights.

Both bills are waiting to be heard in a committee.

The league says while the bills are