Thanks to an executive order from Kentucky Governor Steven Beshear today, 140,000 people convicted of nonviolent felonies in the state will have their voting rights restored, effective immediately. Previously, a felony conviction carried a lifetime voting ban in Kentucky.

This is a victory for democracy in the bluegrass state, which formerly stood alongside Florida and Iowa as one of the only states to enforce a lifetime ban on voting for felons. Although every other state (besides Maine and Vermont, which allow even active prisoners to vote) enforces some sort of prohibition on voting for felons, those bans often end with the prison sentence or upon completion of parole.

The New York Times notes that because the rules were changed by executive order, Beshear’s successor, governor-elect Matt Bevin, could reverse the change upon taking office. However, Bevin’s transitional office has indicated that he supports the restoration of voting rights to certain felons.

The Times is also right to point out that felon disenfranchisement disproportionately effects black men: One in 13 people in the demographic cannot vote thanks to a conviction, according to the group The Sentencing Project. Coupled with other difficulties that are sometimes imposed upon felons—like restricted access to government housing and employment discrimination—disenfranchisement effectively bars people from reentering mainstream society after prison, especially when it is lifelong.

Now thirty thousand additional Kentuckians should see their voting rights restored down the road, according to the Times. Activists hope to amend the state’s constitution to include the change, which would make it much more difficult for future executives to overturn it in the future.

Image via AP. Contact the author at andy@gawker.com.