I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4459 

To secure the Federal voting rights of persons who have been released 

from incarceration. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 10, 2014 

Mr. CONYERS (for himself, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. CLAY, Mr. COHEN, 

Mr. GRAYSON, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. GUTIE ́RREZ, Mr. HONDA, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. JEFFRIES, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. 

MOORE, Mr. MORAN, Mr. NADLER, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. RICHMOND, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, and Mr. SERRANO) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To secure the Federal voting rights of persons who have 

been released from incarceration. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Democracy Restoration 

5 Act of 2014’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) The right to vote is the most basic constitu2 tive act of citizenship. Regaining the right to vote 

3 reintegrates individuals with criminal convictions 

4 into free society, helping to enhance public safety. 

5 (2) Article I, section 4 of the Constitution 

6 grants Congress ultimate supervisory power over 

7 Federal elections, an authority which has repeatedly 

8 been upheld by the United States Supreme Court. 

9 (3) Basic constitutional principles of fairness 

10 and equal protection require an equal opportunity 

11 for citizens of the United States to vote in Federal 

12 elections. The right to vote may not be abridged or 

13 denied by the United States or by any State on ac14 count of race, color, gender or previous condition of 

15 servitude. The 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 24th, and 

16 26th Amendments to the Constitution empower Con17 gress to enact measures to protect the right to vote 

18 in Federal elections. The 8th Amendment to the 

19 Constitution provides for no excessive bail to be re20 quired, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and 

21 unusual punishments inflicted. 

22 (4) There are 3 areas in which discrepancies in 

23 State laws regarding criminal convictions lead to un24 fairness: 


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1 (A) The lack of a uniform standard for 

2 voting in Federal elections leads to an unfair 

3 disparity and unequal participation in Federal 

4 elections based solely on where a person lives. 

5 (B) Laws governing the restoration of vot6 ing rights after a criminal conviction vary 

7 throughout the country and persons in some 

8 States can easily regain their voting rights 

9 while in other States persons effectively lose 

10 their right to vote permanently. 

11 (C) State disenfranchisement laws dis12 proportionately impact racial and ethnic minori13 ties. 

14 (5) Two States do not disenfranchise individ15 uals with criminal convictions at all (Maine and 

16 Vermont), but 48 States and the District of Colum17 bia have laws that deny convicted individuals the 

18 right to vote while they are in prison. 

19 (6) In some States disenfranchisement results 

20 from varying State laws that restrict voting while in21 dividuals are under the supervision of the criminal 

22 justice system or after they have completed a crimi23 nal sentence. In 35 States, convicted individuals may 

24 not vote while they are on parole and 31 of those 

25 States disenfranchise individuals on felony probation 


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1 as well. In 11 States, a conviction can result in life2 time disenfranchisement. 

3 (7) Several States deny the right to vote to in4 dividuals convicted of certain misdemeanors. 

5 (8) An estimated 5,850,000 citizens of the 

6 United States, or about 1 in 40 adults in the United 

7 States, currently cannot vote as a result of a felony 

8 conviction. Of the estimated 5,850,000 citizens 

9 barred from voting, only 25 percent are in prison. 

10 By contrast, 75 percent of the disenfranchised reside 

11 in their communities while on probation or parole or 

12 after having completed their sentences. Approxi13 mately 2,600,000 citizens who have completed their 

14 sentences remain disenfranchised due to restrictive 

15 state laws. In 6 States (Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, 

16 Mississippi, Tennessee, and Virginia) more than 7 

17 percent of the total population is disenfranchised. 

18 (9) In those States that disenfranchise individ19 uals who have completed their sentence, the right to 

20 vote can be regained in theory, but in practice this 

21 possibility is often granted in a non-uniform and po22 tentially discriminatory manner. Disenfranchised in23 dividuals must either obtain a pardon or an order 

24 from the Governor or an action by the parole or par25 don board, depending on the offense and State. IndiVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:21 Apr 16, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4459.IH H4459

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1 viduals convicted of a Federal offense often have ad2 ditional barriers to regaining voting rights. 

3 (10) State disenfranchisement laws dispropor4 tionately impact racial and ethnic minorities. Ap5 proximately 8 percent of the African-American popu6 lation, or more than 2,000,000 African-Americans, 

7 are disenfranchised. Given current rates of incarcer8 ation, approximately 1 in 3 of the next generation 

9 of African-American men will be disenfranchised at 

10 some point during their lifetimes. Currently, 1 of 

11 every 13 African-Americans are rendered unable to 

12 vote because of felony disenfranchisement, a rate 4 

13 times greater than non African-Americans (7.7 per14 cent of African-Americans versus 1.8 percent of non 

15 African-Americans). In 3 States (Florida, 23 per16 cent; Kentucky, 22 percent; and Virginia, 20 per17 cent) more than 1 in 5 African-Americans are un18 able to vote because of prior convictions. 

19 (11) Latino citizens are disproportionately 

20 disenfranchised based upon their disproportionate 

21 representation in the criminal justice system. If cur22 rent incarceration trends hold, 17 percent of Latino 

23 men will be incarcerated during their lifetimes, in 

24 contrast to less than 6 percent of non-Latino White 

25 men. When analyzing the data across 10 States, 


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1 Latinos generally have disproportionately higher 

2 rates of disenfranchisement compared to their pres3 ence in the voting age population. In 6 out of 10 

4 States studied in 2003, Latinos constitute more 

5 than 10 percent of the total number of persons 

6 disenfranchised by State felony laws. In 4 States 

7 (California, 37 percent; New York, 34 percent; 

8 Texas, 30 percent; and Arizona, 27 percent) Latinos 

9 were disenfranchised by a rate of more than 25 per10 cent. 

11 (12) Disenfranchising citizens who have been 

12 convicted of a criminal offense and who are living 

13 and working in the community serves no compelling 

14 State interest and hinders their rehabilitation and 

15 reintegration into society. 

16 (13) State disenfranchisement laws can sup17 press electoral participation among eligible voters by 

18 discouraging voting among family and community 

19 members of disenfranchised persons. Future elec20 toral participation by the children of disenfranchised 

21 parents may be impacted as well. 

22 (14) The United States is the only Western de23 mocracy that permits the permanent denial of voting 

24 rights for individuals with felony convictions. 


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1 SEC. 3. RIGHTS OF CITIZENS. 

2 (a) PROTECTION OF RIGHTS TO VOTE.—The right 

3 of an individual who is a citizen of the United States to 

4 vote in any election for Federal office shall not be denied 

5 or abridged because that individual has been convicted of 

6 a criminal offense unless such individual is serving a fel7 ony sentence in a correctional institution or facility at the 

8 time of the election. 

9 (b) CONDITIONING USE OF FEDERAL PRISON FUNDS

10 ON NOTIFICATION OF RIGHTS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—No State, unit of local gov12 ernment, or other person may receive or use, to con13 struct or otherwise improve a prison, jail, or other 

14 place of incarceration, any Federal grant amounts 

15 unless that person has in effect a program under 

16 which each individual incarcerated in that person’s 

17 jurisdiction who is a citizen of the United States is 

18 notified, upon release from such incarceration, of 

19 that individual’s rights under this section. 

20 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Paragraph (1) shall 

21 apply with respect to fiscal year 2015 and each suc22 ceeding fiscal year. 

23 SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT. 

24 (a) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The Attorney General 

25 may, in a civil action, obtain such declaratory or injunctive 

26 relief as is necessary to remedy a violation of this Act. 


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1 (b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—A person who is aggrieved 

3 by a violation of this Act may provide written notice 

4 of the violation to the chief election official of the 

5 State involved. 

6 (2) RELIEF.—Except as provided in paragraph 

7 (3), if the violation is not corrected within 90 days 

8 after receipt of a notice under paragraph (1), or 

9 within 20 days after receipt of the notice if the viola10 tion occurred within 120 days before the date of an 

11 election for Federal office, the aggrieved person 

12 may, in a civil action, obtain declaratory or injunc13 tive relief with respect to the violation. 

14 (3) EXCEPTION.—If the violation occurred 

15 within 30 days before the date of an election for 

16 Federal office, the aggrieved person need not provide 

17 notice to the chief election official of the State under 

18 paragraph (1) before bringing a civil action to obtain 

19 declaratory or injunctive relief with respect to the 

20 violation. 

21 SEC. 5. NOTIFICATION OF RESTORATION OF VOTING 

22 RIGHTS. 

23 (a) STATE NOTIFICATION.— 

24 (1) NOTIFICATION.—On the date determined 

25 under paragraph (2), each State shall notify in writVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:21 Apr 16, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4459.IH H4459

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1 ing any individual who has been convicted of a 

2 criminal offense under the law of that State that 

3 such individual has the right to vote in an election 

4 for Federal office pursuant to this Act and may reg5 ister to vote in any such election. 

6 (2) DATE OF NOTIFICATION.— 

7 (A) FELONY CONVICTION.—In the case of 

8 such an individual who has been convicted of a 

9 felony, the notification required under para10 graph (1) shall be given on the date on which 

11 the individual— 

12 (i) is sentenced to serve only a term 

13 of probation; or 

14 (ii) is released from the custody of 

15 that State (other than to the custody of 

16 another State or the Federal Government 

17 to serve a term of imprisonment for a fel18 ony conviction). 

19 (B) MISDEMEANOR CONVICTION.—In the 

20 case of such an individual who has been con21 victed of a misdemeanor, the notification re22 quired under paragraph (1) shall be given on 

23 the date on which such individual is sentenced 

24 by a State court. 

25 (b) FEDERAL NOTIFICATION.— 


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1 (1) NOTIFICATION.—On the date determined 

2 under paragraph (2), the applicable official shall no3 tify in writing any individual who has been convicted 

4 of a criminal offense under Federal law that such in5 dividual has the right to vote in an election for Fed6 eral office pursuant to this Act and may register to 

7 vote in any such election. 

8 (2) DATE OF NOTIFICATION.— 

9 (A) FELONY CONVICTION.—In the case of 

10 an individual who is convicted of a felony, the 

11 notification required under paragraph (1) shall 

12 be given— 

13 (i) in the case of an individual who is 

14 sentenced to serve only a term of probation 

15 by the Federal court, on the date on which 

16 the individual is sentenced; or 

17 (ii) in the case of any other such indi18 vidual, at any time during the 6-month pe19 riod which ends on the date on which the 

20 individual is released from the custody of 

21 the Bureau of Prisons (unless the indi22 vidual is released to the custody of a State 

23 to serve a term of imprisonment for a fel24 ony conviction). 


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1 (B) MISDEMEANOR CONVICTION.—In the 

2 case of an individual who has been convicted of 

3 a misdemeanor under Federal law, the notifica4 tion required under paragraph (1) shall be 

5 given on the date on which such individual is 

6 sentenced by the Federal court. 

7 (3) APPLICABLE OFFICIAL.—For purposes of 

8 this subsection, the ‘‘applicable official’’ is, with re9 spect to an individual who has been convicted of a 

10 criminal offense under Federal law— 

11 (A) in the case of an individual who has 

12 been convicted of a misdemeanor, the Director 

13 of the Bureau of Prisons; 

14 (B) in the case of an individual who has 

15 been convicted of a felony but sentenced to 

16 serve only a term of probation, the head of the 

17 office responsible for probation and pretrial 

18 services with respect to the Federal court in19 volved; or 

20 (C) in the case of any other individual who 

21 has been convicted of a felony, the Director of 

22 the Bureau of Prisons. 

23 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

24 For purposes of this Act: 


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1 (1) CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION OR FACIL2 ITY.—The term ‘‘correctional institution or facility’’ 

3 means any prison, penitentiary, jail, or other institu4 tion or facility for the confinement of individuals 

5 convicted of criminal offenses, whether publicly or 

6 privately operated, except that such term does not 

7 include any residential community treatment center 

8 (or similar public or private facility). 

9 (2) ELECTION.—The term ‘‘election’’ means— 

10 (A) a general, special, primary, or runoff 

11 election; 

12 (B) a convention or caucus of a political 

13 party held to nominate a candidate; 

14 (C) a primary election held for the selec15 tion of delegates to a national nominating con16 vention of a political party; or 

17 (D) a primary election held for the expres18 sion of a preference for the nomination of per19 sons for election to the office of President. 

20 (3) FEDERAL OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Federal of21 fice’’ means the office of President or Vice Presi22 dent, or of Senator or Representative in, or Delegate 

23 or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress. 

24 (4) PROBATION.—The term ‘‘probation’’ means 

25 probation, imposed by a Federal, State, or local 


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1 court, with or without a condition on the individual 

2 involved concerning— 

3 (A) the individual’s freedom of movement; 

4 (B) the payment of damages by the indi5 vidual; 

6 (C) periodic reporting by the individual to 

7 an officer of the court; or 

8 (D) supervision of the individual by an of9 ficer of the court. 

10 SEC. 7. RELATION TO OTHER LAWS. 

11 (a) STATE LAWS RELATING TO VOTING RIGHTS.— 

12 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit any 

13 State from enacting any State law which affords the right 

14 to vote in any election for Federal office on terms less 

15 restrictive than those established by this Act. 

16 (b) CERTAIN FEDERAL ACTS.—The rights and rem17 edies established by this Act are in addition to all other 

18 rights and remedies provided by law, and neither rights 

19 and remedies established by this Act shall supersede, re20 strict, or limit the application of the Voting Rights Act 

21 of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973 et seq.) or the National Voter 

22 Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973–gg et seq.). 


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1 SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 This Act shall apply with respect to elections for Fed3 eral office held after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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