Johnson opposes efforts to change the state Constitution to restore voting rights for felons once they have served their sentences. Felons now can have their right to vote restored in Kentucky only by getting the governor’s approval.

Johnson sums up his position by saying that people who commit “very violent crimes never really fully repay their debt to society.”

Grimes sees it differently, saying ex-cons who “have paid their debt to society should be able to participate in the political process.”

But she said it’s up to state lawmakers to decide whether to put the measure on the ballot. The proposal has come up for years but stalled in the General Assembly