I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1300
To ensure the Federal voting rights of persons who have been released 
from incarceration. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 15, 2005
Mr. CONYERS (for himself, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, 
Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. FRANK
of Massachusetts, Mr. 
HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, 
Ms. KILPATRICK of Michigan, Ms. LEE, Mr. MEEK of Florida, Mr. 
MEEKS of New York, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. MORAN of Vir-
ginia, Ms. NORTON, Mr. OWENS, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. RUSH, Ms. 
SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. WATERS, Mr. WATT, and Mr. WYNN) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary 
A BILL 
To ensure the Federal voting rights of persons who have 
been released from incarceration.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Civic Participation and 
Rehabilitation Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The right to vote is the most basic constitu-
tive act of citizenship and regaining the right to vote 
reintegrates offenders into free society. The right to 
vote may not be abridged or denied by the United 
States or by any State on account of race, color, 
gender or previous condition of servitude. Basic con-
stitutional principles of fairness and equal protection 
require an equal opportunity for Americans to vote 
in Federal elections. Congress has ultimate super-
visory power over Federal elections, an authority 
which has repeatedly been upheld by the Supreme 
Court. 
(2) Congress finds three areas where discrep-
ancies in State laws regarding felony convictions 
lead to unfairness in Federal elections: (A) there is 
no uniform standard for voting in Federal elections 
which leads to an unfair disparity and unequal par-
ticipation in Federal elections based solely on where 
a person lives; (B) laws governing the restoration of 
voting rights after a felony conviction are unequal 
throughout the country and persons in some States 
can easily regain their voting rights while in other 
States persons effectively lose their right to vote per-
manently; and (C) State disenfranchisement laws 
disproportionately impact ethnic minorities.
(3) Although State law determines the quali-
fications for voting, Congress must ensure that those 
laws are in accordance with the Constitution. Cur-
rent laws vary throughout the country resulting in 
discrepancies regarding which citizens may vote in 
Federal elections. 
(4) An estimated 4,700,000 Americans, or one 
in 44 adults, currently cannot vote as a result of a 
felony conviction. Women represent 676,730 of this 
total. Disenfranchisement results from varying State 
laws that restrict voting while under some form of 
criminal justice supervision or after the completion 
of a felony sentence in some States. Two States do 
not disenfranchise felons at all (Maine and 
Vermont). Forty-eight States and the District of Co-
lumbia have disenfranchisement laws that deprive 
convicted offenders of the right to vote while they 
are in prison. In thirty-five States, convicted offend-
ers may not vote while they are on parole and in 
thirty-one States probationers may not vote. Six 
States disenfranchise ex-offenders who have fully 
served their sentences, regardless of the nature or 
seriousness of the offense. 1,700,000 of the 
4,700,000 disqualified voters are not in prison, but 
are on probation, parole or are ex-offenders.
(5) In those States that disenfranchise ex-of-
fenders, the right to vote can be regained in theory, 
but in practice this possibility is often illusory. In 
fourteen States, a pardon or order from the Gov-
ernor or a parole or pardon board is required. Of-
fenders convicted of a Federal offense often have ad-
ditional barriers to regaining voting rights. In some 
States, Federal offenders cannot use the State pro-
cedure for restoring their civil rights. The only 
method provided by Federal law for restoring voting 
rights to ex-offenders is a Presidential pardon. Few 
persons who seek to have their right to vote restored 
have the financial and political resources needed to 
succeed. 
(6) Thirteen percent of the African American 
adult male population, or 1,400,000 African Amer-
ican men, are disenfranchised. Given current rates 
of incarceration, three in ten of the next generation 
of black men will be disenfranchised at some point 
during their lifetime. Hispanic citizens are also dis-
proportionately disenfranchised since they are dis-
proportionately represented in the criminal justice 
system. 
(7) These discrepancies should be addressed by 
Congress. Basic concepts of fundamental fairness
and equal protection require an equal opportunity 
for Americans to vote in Federal elections. This Act 
will restore fairness in the Federal election process 
and promote reintegration of former offenders into 
a life as law abiding citizens of the United States. 
SEC. 3. RIGHTS OF CITIZENS. 
The right of an individual who is a citizen of the 
United States to vote in any election for Federal office 
shall not be denied or abridged because that individual has 
been convicted of a criminal offense unless such individual 
is serving a felony sentence in a correctional institution 
or facility at the time of the election. 
SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT. 
(a) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The Attorney General 
may, in a civil action, obtain such declaratory or injunctive 
relief as is necessary to remedy a violation of this Act. 
(b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—(1) A person who 
is aggrieved by a violation of this Act may provide written 
notice of the violation to the chief election official of the 
State involved. 
(2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), if the viola-
tion is not corrected within 90 days after receipt of a no-
tice under paragraph (1), or within 20 days after receipt 
of the notice if the violation occurred within 120 days be-
fore the date of an election for Federal office, the ag-