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By Andrew Hebert–
Cherie Dawson-Edwards enlightened the Chao Auditorium on the history and controversies behind disenfranchisement in the state of Kentucky and the US. Her talk, titled “Disrupting Democracy: Felony Disenfranchisement in the ‘Smart on Crime’ Era,” went through various ways disenfranchisement has been practiced throughout the United States and how it affects politics in Kentucky.
Disenfranchisement is the taking away of someone’s right to vote based on crimes committed. Kentucky was the first state to entertain the idea of disenfranchisement for criminals, putting it in the first state constitution in 1791.