2020 launched the Kentucky Democracy Project, a new campaign to register, educate and mobilize Kentucky voters to participate in the 2020 election and beyond. As Kentuckians, we can work together to build a healthy democracy where everyone has a voice and a vote. Our focus is on communities often left out of the political decision-making process – lower income communities, people of color, and young people – particularly 170,000 Kentuckians with felonies in their past who got back their right to vote.
This November KFTC spoke with three of those 170,000 to discuss what voting means to them and what it's going to take to restore and respect the voting rights of all Kentuckians. Links to the full audio interviews are listed at the bottom.
Aubrey Clemons has always valued voting. But Clemons lost his right to vote after a felony conviction in 2006. He got his right to vote back through Gov. Andy Beshear's executive order. He lives in the Smoketown community of Louisville and is a KFTC member.
Q: What is your history with voting and what does voting mean to you?
Aubrey Clemons: Voting on a personal level is really special to me because as a young man, when I was 18 I never played into politics or policies. My up-comings and my community, the last thing we thought is that our voice mattered. It was typical to hear a brother of 18, 19, 20 years old say, I’m not voting, it doesn’t mean anything.
I didn’t start hearing the conversation about voting until maybe 2004? The only reason why I voted is because my son’s mother was really big on voting. She made it a date. She’d get all dressed up and took me/us to the polls.
Unfortunately in 2006 I got into some mess in Hart County, Kentucky. I never knew that boot-legging DVDs and CDs to be sold was bad, but I lost my right to vote because of it and became a felon.
Voting was a part of our tradition as a couple, that we could have started but never got the chance to. Right after I was able to vote, right after I learned the power of my voice, I lost my right to vote. So that tradition got stomped. Even when I was in that place, serving my time in the state of Kentucky, she would always call me and let me know that she voted, that it was voting time. She had my kids out there excited to vote for Obama, twice! It’s really a big deal to me.
In February, members of the Big Sandy Chapter and KFTC members in nearby counties met with Sen. Johnnie Turner to begin to build a relationship and urge his support for a few important issues. Participants included Kathy Curtis, Erik Fields, and John and Jean Rosenberg from Floyd County, Dayjha Hogg and Jacob Mack-Boll from Letcher County, Carl Shoupe from Harlan County, and Lisa Abbott from Madison County.
As we planned this event, we communicated often, and we encouraged each other. We laughed a lot and brainstormed ideas about how to make it work. What really convinced us to continue with this project was when we started asking artists to donate art. They were almost all glad to help. Friends like Casey Papendieck of Turtle Farm Pottery in Wolfe County even met us in Lexington to hand off their donation.