07:03 AM EST on Monday, February 20, 2006

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- Lawmakers are weighing a proposed constitutional amendment that would automatically restore voting rights to felons completing their sentence, probation and paying restitution.

But, with the legislative session reaching its halfway point, it's main sponsor, Rep. Jesse Crenshaw, D-Lexington, and groups supporting House Bill 480 fear time will run out if it isn't heard by a House committee soon.

"I think the right to vote is such a critical right that it helps show ex-offenders that they are, in fact, being included in our society," Crenshaw said.

Gov. Ernie Fletcher's administration, along with some commonwealth's attorneys, oppose the measure.

The bill is aimed at simplifying the restoration process, which now requires felons to complete their sentences and write a letter to Fletcher explaining why their rights should be restored and include three character references.

Fletcher's general counsel, Jim Deckard said the governor feels obliged to have his staff examine each case and that prosecutors' should play a role in the decision.

"I do not believe it's too onerous for an individual seeking a gubernatorial action to explain the reasons why," Deckard said. "It may be as simple as two or three sentences explaining what the right of suffrage and the return of civil rights means to them. It's important in the process for there to be an individualized action."

Fletcher created the process, when 1,123 felons applied for restoration of their rights and 318 had them restored, according to Lisa Lamb, spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections.

In 2005, Lamb said, 655 felons applied and 257 had their rights restored.

By comparison, in 2003 -- the last year of Gov. Paul Patton's administration -- 1,216 felons applied and Patton restored rights to 1,150, Lamb said.

But, the new process leaves Kentucky behind other states in making rehabilitation and assimilation back into society part of the corrections process, said Raoul Cunningham, president of the Louisville branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Kentucky, Virginia and Florida are the only states that give the governor power over whether a person convicted of any felony may vote again. Nine states require some felons to ask the governor to restore their voting rights.

"This governor made the process more difficult," Cunningham said. "The next may make it even more difficult. There should be consistency."

Dave Stengel, the Jefferson County commonwealth's attorney, said he supports the bill.

"If people have paid their dues, it might make them feel enfranchised as a full member of society," he said.

Crenshaw, Cunningham and other supporters acknowledged that the bill faces difficulty this session, including a three-fifths majority vote needed in each chamber for it to pass. Most bills need only a majority vote.

If it clears those hurdles, the question would be placed on the ballot for voters to decide.

Kevin Rager, who spent 32 months in prison for a pair of drug-possession felonies, is hoping the measure passes so he can vote again.

"I made some bad decisions, but I've done everything I've had to do to start over again," said Rager, 30, of Louisville. "I've got a job and I'm paying taxes like everyone else."

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Information from: Lexington Herald-Leader,

http://www.kentucky.com

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)