II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1068 

To secure the Federal voting rights of persons when released from 

incarceration. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 9, 2019 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, Mr. REED, Ms. WARREN, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. SANDERS, Mrs. MURRAY, Ms. SMITH, Ms. HIRONO, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mrs. 

GILLIBRAND, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. COONS, 

Mr. CASEY, Mr. BROWN, and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To secure the Federal voting rights of persons when 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 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 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 in Federal elections— 


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1 (A) the lack of a uniform standard for vot2 ing in Federal elections leads to an unfair dis3 parity 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; and 

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

14 (5) State disenfranchisement laws vary widely. 

15 Two States do not disenfranchise individuals with 

16 criminal convictions at all. In 34 States, individuals 

17 with convictions may not vote while they are on pa18 role and 30 of those States disenfranchise individ19 uals on felony probation as well. In 12 States, a con20 viction can result in lifetime disenfranchisement. 

21 (6) Several States deny the right to vote to in22 dividuals convicted of certain misdemeanors. 

23 (7) In 2016, an estimated 6,100,000 citizens of 

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

25 United States, could not vote as a result of a felony 


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1 conviction. Of the 6,100,000 citizens barred from 

2 voting then, only 22 percent were in prison. By con3 trast, 77 percent of persons disenfranchised then re4 sided in their communities while on probation or pa5 role or after having completed their sentences. Ap6 proximately 3,100,000 citizens who had completed 

7 their sentences were disenfranchised due to restric8 tive State laws. As of November 2018, the lifetime 

9 ban for persons with certain felony convictions was 

10 eliminated through a Florida ballot initiative. As a 

11 result, as many as 1,400,000 people are now eligible 

12 to have their voting rights restored. In 6 States— 

13 Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, 

14 and Virginia—more than 7 percent of the total pop15 ulation is disenfranchised. 

16 (8) In those States that disenfranchise individ17 uals post-sentence, the right to vote can be regained 

18 in theory, but in practice this possibility is often 

19 granted in a non-uniform and potentially discrimina20 tory manner. Disenfranchised individuals sometimes 

21 must either obtain a pardon or an order from the 

22 Governor or an action by the parole or pardon 

23 board, depending on the offense and State. Individ24 uals convicted of a Federal offense often have addi25 tional barriers to regaining voting rights. 


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1 (9) State disenfranchisement laws dispropor2 tionately impact racial and ethnic minorities. As of 

3 2016, more than 7 percent of the voting-age Afri4 can-American population, or 2,200,000 African5 Americans, were disenfranchised. One out of every 

6 13 African-Americans were unable to vote because of 

7 felony disenfranchisement, which is a rate more than 

8 4 times greater than non-African-Americans. 7.4 

9 percent of African-Americans were disenfranchised 

10 whereas 1.8 percent of non-African-Americans were. 

11 In 2016, in 4 States—Florida (23 percent), Ken12 tucky (22 percent), Tennessee (21 percent), and Vir13 ginia (20 percent)—more than 1 in 5 African-Ameri14 cans were unable to vote because of prior convic15 tions. 

16 (10) Latino citizens are also disproportionately 

17 disenfranchised based upon their disproportionate 

18 representation in the criminal justice system. If cur19 rent incarceration trends hold, the lifetime likelihood 

20 of incarceration for males born in 2001 is 17 per21 cent for Latinos, in contrast to less than 6 percent 

22 for non-Latino White men. When analyzing the data 

23 across 10 States, Latinos generally have dispropor24 tionately higher rates of disenfranchisement com25 pared to their presence in the voting age population. 


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1 In 6 out of 10 States studied in 2003, Latinos con2 stituted more than 10 percent of the total number 

3 of persons disenfranchised by State felony laws. In 

4 4 States (California, 37 percent; New York, 34 per5 cent; Texas, 30 percent; and Arizona, 27 percent), 

6 Latinos were disenfranchised by a rate of more than 

7 25 percent. 

8 (11) Disenfranchising citizens who have been 

9 convicted of a criminal offense and who are living 

10 and working in the community serves no compelling 

11 State interest and hinders their rehabilitation and 

12 reintegration into society. 

13 (12) State disenfranchisement laws can sup14 press electoral participation among eligible voters by 

15 discouraging voting among family and community 

16 members of disenfranchised persons. Future elec17 toral participation by the children of disenfranchised 

18 parents may be impacted as well. 

19 (13) The United States is the only Western de20 mocracy that permits the permanent denial of voting 

21 rights for individuals with felony convictions. 

22 SEC. 3. RIGHTS OF CITIZENS. 

23 The right of an individual who is a citizen of the 

24 United States to vote in any election for Federal office 

25 shall not be denied or abridged because that individual has 


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1 been convicted of a criminal offense unless such individual 

2 is serving a felony sentence in a correctional institution 

3 or facility at the time of the election. 

4 SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT. 

5 (a) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The Attorney General 

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

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

8 (b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

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

10 by a violation of this Act may provide written notice 

11 of the violation to the chief election official of the 

12 State involved. 

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

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

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

16 within 20 days after receipt of the notice if the viola17 tion occurred within 120 days before the date of an 

18 election for Federal office, the aggrieved person 

19 may, in a civil action, obtain declaratory or injunc20 tive relief with respect to the violation. 

21 (3) EXCEPTION.—If the violation occurred 

22 within 30 days before the date of an election for 

23 Federal office, the aggrieved person need not provide 

24 notice to the chief election official of the State under 

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


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1 declaratory or injunctive relief with respect to the 

2 violation. 

3 SEC. 5. NOTIFICATION OF RESTORATION OF VOTING 

4 RIGHTS. 

5 (a) STATE NOTIFICATION.— 

6 (1) NOTIFICATION.—On the date determined 

7 under paragraph (2), each State shall notify in writ8 ing any individual who has been convicted of a 

9 criminal offense under the law of that State that 

10 such individual has the right to vote in an election 

11 for Federal office pursuant to the Democracy Res12 toration Act of 2019 and may register to vote in any 

13 such election and provide such individuals with any 

14 materials that are necessary to register to vote in 

15 any such election. 

16 (2) DATE OF NOTIFICATION.— 

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

18 such an individual who has been convicted of a 

19 felony, the notification required under para20 graph (1) shall be given on the date on which 

21 the individual— 

22 (i) is sentenced to serve only a term 

23 of probation; or 

24 (ii) is released from the custody of 

25 that State (other than to the custody of 


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1 another State or the Federal Government 

2 to serve a term of imprisonment for a fel3 ony conviction). 

4 (B) MISDEMEANOR CONVICTION.—In the 

5 case of such an individual who has been con6 victed of a misdemeanor, the notification re7 quired under paragraph (1) shall be given on 

8 the date on which such individual is sentenced 

9 by a State court. 

10 (b) FEDERAL NOTIFICATION.— 

11 (1) NOTIFICATION.—Any individual who has 

12 been convicted of a criminal offense under Federal 

13 law shall be notified in accordance with paragraph 

14 (2) that such individual has the right to vote in an 

15 election for Federal office pursuant to the Democ16 racy Restoration Act of 2019 and may register to 

17 vote in any such election. 

18 (2) DATE OF NOTIFICATION.— 

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

20 such an individual who has been convicted of a 

21 felony, the notification required under para22 graph (1) shall be given— 

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

24 sentenced to serve only a term of proba25 tion, by the Assistant Director for the OfVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:39 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1068.IS S1068

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1 fice of Probation and Pretrial Services of 

2 the Administrative Office of the United 

3 States Courts on the date on which the in4 dividual is sentenced; or 

5 (ii) in the case of any individual com6 mitted to the custody of the Bureau of 

7 Prisons, by the Director of the Bureau of 

8 Prisons, during the period beginning on 

9 the date that is 6 months before such indi10 vidual is released and ending on the date 

11 such individual is released from the cus12 tody of the Bureau of Prisons. 

13 (B) MISDEMEANOR CONVICTION.—In the 

14 case of such an individual who has been con15 victed of a misdemeanor, the notification re16 quired under paragraph (1) shall be given on 

17 the date on which such individual is sentenced 

18 by a court established by an Act of Congress. 

19 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

20 For purposes of this Act: 

21 (1) CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION OR FACIL22 ITY.—The term ‘‘correctional institution or facility’’ 

23 means any prison, penitentiary, jail, or other institu24 tion or facility for the confinement of individuals 

25 convicted of criminal offenses, whether publicly or 


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1 privately operated, except that such term does not 

2 include any residential community treatment center 

3 (or similar public or private facility). 

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

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

6 election; 

7 (B) a convention or caucus of a political 

8 party held to nominate a candidate; 

9 (C) a primary election held for the selec10 tion of delegates to a national nominating con11 vention of a political party; or 

12 (D) a primary election held for the expres13 sion of a preference for the nomination of per14 sons for election to the office of President. 

15 (3) FEDERAL OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Federal of16 fice’’ means the office of President or Vice President 

17 of the United States, or of Senator or Representa18 tive in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, 

19 the Congress of the United States. 

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

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

22 court, with or without a condition on the individual 

23 involved concerning— 

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


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1 (B) the payment of damages by the indi2 vidual; 

3 (C) periodic reporting by the individual to 

4 an officer of the court; or 

5 (D) supervision of the individual by an of6 ficer of the court. 

7 SEC. 7. RELATION TO OTHER LAWS. 

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

9 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit the 

10 States from enacting any State law which affords the right 

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

12 restrictive than those established by this Act. 

13 (b) CERTAIN FEDERAL ACTS.—The rights and rem14 edies established by this Act are in addition to all other 

15 rights and remedies provided by law, and neither rights 

16 and remedies established by this Act shall supersede, re17 strict, or limit the application of the Voting Rights Act 

18 of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.), the National Voter 

19 Registration Act (52 U.S.C. 20501), or the Help America 

20 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20901 et seq.). 

21 SEC. 8. FEDERAL PRISON FUNDS. 

22 No State, unit of local government, or other person 

23 may receive or use, to construct or otherwise improve a 

24 prison, jail, or other place of incarceration, any Federal 


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1 funds unless that State, unit of local government, or per2 son— 

3 (1) is in compliance with section 3; and 

4 (2) has in effect a program under which each 

5 individual incarcerated in that person’s jurisdiction 

6 who is a citizen of the United States is notified, 

7 upon release from such incarceration, of that indi8 vidual’s rights under section 3. 

9 SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

10 This Act shall apply to citizens of the United States 

11 voting in any election for Federal office held on or after 

12 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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