Sen. Rand Paul
A Key US Republican senator has started a campaign to reform felon disenfranchisement laws both in Washington D.C. and Kentucky.
Speaking at a local event in Louisville Monday, stalwart conservative Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) argued that felons who have served their sentences should get their voting rights restored.
Paul noted that one of every three adult African-American men are convicted felons.
His push to reform the laws could eventually affect nearly six million American citizens, disproportionately minorities, who are prohibited from voting.
People living in a dozen states, including Washington D.C. and Kentucky, who have committed a felony and gotten sent to prison don™t get their voting rights back after completing their sentence.
Paul™s reform appears to be popular in Kentucky. A poll this year found state residents supporting the idea by a 51-38 margin, according to The Washington Post.
Paul also proposed reclassifying felonies like drug possession and non-payment of child support into misdemeanors, a move that would prevent huge swaths of people from having their voting rights threatened in the first place.
The Kentucky senator is said to be preparing for a possible 2016 presidential bid.
Observers say his recent decision is an effort to broaden his party™s appeal to minorities.
Paul opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, when he run for the Senate, claiming that allowing whites-only lunch counters to thrive is the œhard part about believing in freedom.”
Ex-felons in Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wyoming can also permanently lose their right to vote.
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Copyright: Press TV