Republican Kentucky state Senator Dan Seum of Louisville expressed some support for the idea of non-violent convicted felons receiving their voting rights back along with legalizing medical marijuana.Under the state constitution, former felons must petition the governor to regain their right to vote.Kentucky is one of three states that do not restore the right to vote for ex-convicts automatically, which has left seven percent of residents disenfranchised. A study conducted by The Sentencing Project found the law also leaves one in five African Americans without voting rights.Seum says it is important to get former felons back into society and he will lobby fellow Republicans in the GOP-controlled Senate while acknowledging the political barriers."The fear here is that you would be perceived to be easy on criminals, that’s the political fear," Seum told Pure Politics's Ryan Alessi. "And that's something of course, any opponent would use that against you." From Pure Politics: Seum also showed interest in state Sen. Perry Clark's proposal to legalize medical marijuana, depending on the details.
