Seeking the right to vote automatically - Herald-Leader

Merline Davis wrote a good article that will appear in tomorrow's Herald-Leader supporting voting rights for former felons who have served their time and inviting people to our Singing For Democracy Gospel Fest on Wednesday. 

After spending three years in prison and another seven years on parole, René D. Riley of Lexington knew she wanted a better life, a fuller life, the life of an ordinary citizen.

As a convicted felon, though, Riley, 44, knew that kind of life would not be easy to achieve. Finding a job and safe housing were very difficult. Plus, she said, she realized she could not vote.

Section 145 of Kentucky's Constitution states that anyone convicted of a felony loses the right to vote. Those rights can be restored, though, through an executive pardon by the governor. Without a pardon, a convicted felon can never vote again in Kentucky.

 Riley was not having that.

"I am the type of person when I set my mind to do something, I push myself," she said.

When she couldn't find a job, she went to school. When she learned she could not cast a ballot, she contacted her parole officer.

She was supplied with the necessary paperwork to send to the governor's office asking to be re-enfranchised.

"I wrote Gov. (Ernie) Fletcher a letter and he wrote back," she said. "He asked why he should give (the right to vote) back to me."

In other news related to the upcoming Singing for Democracy Gospel Fest, we had a good set of planning meetings today to move things forward, but we scheduled another (fifth and final) meeting tomorrow, along with a set of other publicity events:

- Pleasant Green Church (540 West Maxwell Street) at 11am tomorrow (Sunday) morning.  Passing out flyers about the Gospel Fest.

- Fifth and final Planning Meeting - tomorrow (Sunday) at  4:00pm at the Lexington KFTC Office (250 Plaza Dr., Lexington).

- Flyering at the Lexington Transit Center downtown - 6am to 9am Tuesday, December 1st.  Headed up by Jan.

- Flyering Day to help raise awareness of the event on Tuesday, December 1st at 1pm, meeting at the Lexington KFTC Office (250 Plaza Dr., Lexington).  We'll flyer in the neighborhoods around Imani.

- Gospel Fest - Wednesday, December 2nd at 6:30pm at Imani Baptist Church.  This should be an extraordinary event!  We could also use more volunteers during the event itself.  Please email me to let me know if you can be there.

- Scott County Voting Rights Meeting - Thursday, December 3rd at 6:30pm at the Ed Davis Learning Center (151 Ed Davis Ln, Georgetown).  Meeting headed up by Homer White.