Shannon Santollo (Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd)
FRANKFORT — When she was in 10th grade, Shannon Santollo dropped out of school and got a job under a fake identity to support herself and her two younger brothers.
Santollo was the “primary caregiver” for her family because her mother, who lived with schizophrenia, spent time in the hospital getting mental health treatment.
“When my mother was institutionalized again, I had no one to sign off on employment papers and, without a job, we were starving,” Santollo told a group of about 40 people who rallied Tuesday in the Capitol Annex for broader voter rights restoration in Kentucky. Minors ages 16 and 17 in Kentucky can’t work full time without parental consent.
“The food pantry cheese and beans were something we were very grateful for but they weren’t enough to keep us going,” Santollo added. “At 17, I had to make a choice. I could have stayed in school and talked to a teacher about us being alone and struggling, but then I’d be at risk of us being sent away to foster homes, something we’d experienced in the past, and I would not allow to happen to my family again.”
Santollo was ultimately found out and charged with felony identity theft, she said. She turned 18 in juvenile detention.
“When I was released, my time was done, but my punishment wasn’t over, because I lost something I could never earn back on my own: my right to vote,” said Santollo, who lives in Paducah and works with ABLE Kentucky, which stands for Advocacy Based on Lived Experiences. “Even though I’m a productive member of society today, committed to my job and my community, I remain disenfranchised.”
ABLE and others who rallied in Frankfort Tuesday are asking Gov. Andy Beshear to expand his 2019 executive order that restored voter rights to about 140,000 people who’d been convicted of nonviolent felony offenses.
Eventually, advocates said, they want to see an amendment to the state constitution to allow automatic restoration. A 2023 piece of legislation that would have let voters decide that via a ballot measure got bipartisan support but never got out of committee. There are about 161,506 Kentuckians who would benefit from such a change.
Beshear’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
‘Revenge,’ not ‘equity’
Felicia Nu’Man, the director for the Center for Justice and Policy Initiative at the Louisville Urban League, said it would be “just and humane” to ensure people with felonies can contribute to society.
“Luckily, in America, our justice system differentiates between crimes and punishments, and different crimes have different punishments. We have decided that theft of a car is not the same as murdering your wife. We have decided that assaulting a person to near death is not the same as writing a cold check,” Nu’Man said.
She continued: “Every one of the offenses I have named are different crimes with different punishments. But one thing they all have in common is: once you are convicted, you will be a felon in this state forever, and you will never be able to vote again in your lifetime. Is this equitable? Is this fair? No, it’s revenge. It’s callous, it’s unnecessary. It is utterly unjust to enact this type of punishment for life.”
People with felony records can apply to have their voting rights restored, but advocates have called the process lengthy and cumbersome.
Leslie Waddle, who spent 23 years serving in the Army, encouraged Kentuckians to “remain vigilant” in fighting for voter rights.
“Fighting for the rights and freedoms of others is not an easy feat, but it’s a battle worth waging time and time again,” said Waddle, whose military service included three combat deployments and multiple overseas tours.
“When I sacrificed my youth, my mental health, my body, relationships with my children, with my family, for this country, I didn’t do it for some,” she said. “I did it for all.”
This story may be updated.
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