140,000 people cannot vote in Kentucky because they have a criminal record

Most US states severely restrict voting rights for citizens who have been convicted of a crime - a law which disproportionately affects African Americans

A large swathe of people in Kentucky are permanently disenfranchised (Getty Images)

As Kentucky citizens head to the polls to decide on the future president of the United States - the man or woman who will decide their future - some 140,000 Kentuckians have to stay home.

US state laws severely restrict voting rights of those who have a criminal record. In Kentucky, this means over 100,000 people who have been convicted of a crime and served time will never be able to vote again.

This number includes a Louisville resident and pastor, 55-year-old Alonzo Malone Jr, who remains disenfranchised more than 16 years after he spent time behind bars for missing child support payments during a time when he was addicted to alcohol and drugs.

“I feel less than human,” he told Think Progress. “I feel less than a man. I get frustrated.”

Kentucky is one of only three states that completely removes the voting right of anybody who has been convicted.

In 2015 there was hope for ex-felons that they could also cast their ballot as the outgoing Democrat governor Steve Besmear set up an application process to restore their voting rights.

Only a small number of them were able to take advantage before the new Republican governor, Matt Bevin, stopped it.

Mr Bevin recently signed legislation to make it easier for certain ex-felons to vote, five years after their sentence or probation, but not if their crime was violent or sexual in nature.

Around 5 per cent of people of voting age in Kentucky cannot vote, while that number rises to 16.7 per cent for African Americans.

In Oregon, the second state heading to the polls on 17 May, ex-felons are allowed to vote once they have served their sentence.

Hillary Clinton has voiced support for extending voters’ rights, while Republican Donald Trump criticized the Virginia governor for bringing back more than 200,000 former felons into the voting system.

Only two states - Vermont and Maine - allow people convicted of a crime to vote by proxy whilst still in jail.

There are 10 states that permanently ban ex-felons from the right to vote. In Florida, the ban equates to one in four African Americans.