Democracy's Ghosts in Louisville

People in Louisville got to view the film Democracy's Ghosts last night at a screening sponsored by the ACLU of Kentucky, the Anne Braden Institute and the Jefferson County KFTC chapter.  Linda Stettenbenz organized the program and emceed the event.

Democracy's Ghosts is a short but moving film about the disenfranchisement of 5 million voters nationwide because of a past felony conviction. About 186,000 Kentuckians are denied the right to vote even though most have completed their sentences.

One of the people in the film defined the word "ghosts" in this context — "someone without a voice."

That experience was echoed by KFTC members Tayna Fogle and Carl Matthews who both spoke after the film.  Tayna lost her vote for 13 years but finally got her right restored after a lengthy process. "I made a mistake, I am not a mistake," she said in acknowledging bad choices many years ago before she turned her life around.

The only way for a former felon to have their voting rights restored is by an order from the governor. The speakers thanked Gov. Steve Beshear for making that process easier and removing some of the barriers put in place by Gov. Ernie Fletcher.  They emphasized that is why constitutional change is needed, so that the process becomes automatic and not subject to the whims of whoever is the governor at the time.

Carl encouraged people to get involved in efforts to pass this constitutional reform (House Bill 70) and chapter member Mary Love explained the citizen lobbying process with KFTC in Frankfort.

The evening ended with conversation and commitments to see each other again at the Restoration of Voting Rights Lobby Day in Frankfort on Tuesday, February 10. Click here to learn details of that important lobby day.