(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 United States citi-
zens to vote in Federal elections. 
(2) Since the founding of the Nation, most 
States have enacted laws disenfranchising convicted 
felons and ex-felons. In the last 30 years, due to the 
dramatic expansion of the criminal justice system, 
these laws have significantly affected the political 
voice of many American communities. The momen-
tum toward reform of these policies has been based 
on a reconsideration of their wisdom in meeting le-
gitimate correctional objectives and the interests of 
full democratic participation. Forty-eight States and 
the District of Columbia prohibit inmates from vot-
ing while incarcerated for a felony offense. 
(3) Congress has ultimate supervisory power 
over Federal elections, an authority that has repeat-
edly been upheld by the Supreme Court. 
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(4) Although State laws determine the quali-
fications for voting in Federal elections, Congress 
must ensure that those laws are in accordance with 
the 
Constitution. 
Currently, 
those 
laws 
vary 
throughout the Nation, resulting in discrepancies re-
garding which citizens may vote in Federal elections. 
(5) Only two States (Maine and Vermont) per-
mit inmates to vote. Thirty-five States prohibit fel-
ons from voting while they are on parole and 30 of 
these States exclude felony probationers as well. Two 
States deny the right to vote to all ex-offenders who 
have completed their sentences. Nine others dis-
enfranchise certain categories of ex-offenders or per-
mit application for restoration of rights for specified 
offenses after a waiting period (e.g., 5 years in Dela-
ware and Wyoming, and 2 years in Nebraska). Each 
State has developed its own process of restoring vot-
ing rights to ex-offenders but most of these restora-
tion processes are so cumbersome that few ex-of-
fenders are able to take advantage of them. 
(6) An estimated 5,300,000 million Americans, 
or one in 41 adults, have currently or permanently 
lost their voting rights as a result of a felony convic-
tion. 
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(7) State disenfranchisement laws dispropor-
tionately impact ethnic minorities. 
(8) Thirteen States disenfranchise some or all 
ex-offenders who have fully served their sentences, 
regardless of the nature or seriousness of the of-
fense. 
(9) In those States that disenfranchise ex-of-
fenders who have fully served their sentences, the 
right to vote can be regained in theory, but in prac-
tice this possibility is often illusory. 
(10) In eight States, a pardon or order from 
the Governor is required for an ex-offender to regain 
the right to vote. In two States, ex-offenders must 
obtain action by the parole or pardon board to re-
gain that right. 
(11) Offenders convicted of a Federal offense 
often have additional barriers to regaining voting 
rights. In at least 16 States, Federal ex-offenders 
cannot use the State procedure for restoring their 
voting rights. The only method provided by Federal 
law for restoring voting rights to ex-offenders is a 
Presidential pardon. 
(12) Few persons who seek to have their right 
to vote restored have the financial and political re-
sources needed to succeed. 
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(13) Thirteen percent of the African-American 
adult male population, or 1,400,000 African–Amer-
ican men, are disenfranchised. Given current rates 
of incarceration, 3 in 10 African–American men in 
the next generation will be disenfranchised at some 
point during their lifetimes. Hispanic citizens are 
also disproportionately disenfranchised, since those 
citizens are disproportionately represented in the 
criminal justice system. 
(14) An estimated 676,730 women are cur-
rently ineligible to vote as a result of a felony convic-
tion. More than 2,000,000 White Americans (His-
panic and non-Hispanic) are disenfranchised as a re-
sult of a felony conviction. In five States that deny 
the vote to ex-offenders, one in four Black men is 
permanently disenfranchised. 
(15) Given current rates of incarceration, three 
in ten of the next generation of Black men can ex-
pect to be disenfranchised at some point in their life-
time. In States that disenfranchise ex-offenders, as 
many as 40 percent of Black men may permanently 
lose their right to vote. Two million one hundred 
thousand disenfranchised persons are ex-offenders 
who have completed their sentences. 
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(16) The discrepancies described in this sub-
section should be addressed by Congress, in the 
name of fundamental fairness and equal protection. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to restore 
fairness in the Federal election process by ensuring that 
ex-offenders who have fully served their sentences are not 
denied the right to vote. 
SEC. 3. RIGHTS OF CITIZENS. 
(a) PROTECTING RIGHT TO VOTE
IN FEDERAL 
ELECTIONS.—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 indi-
vidual has been convicted of a criminal offense unless, at 
the time of the election, such individual is serving a felony 
sentence in a correctional institution or facility. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 
(1) CORRECTIONAL
INSTITUTION
OR
FACIL-
ITY.—The term ‘‘correctional institution or facility’’ 
means any prison, penitentiary, jail, or other institu-
tion or facility for the confinement of individuals 
convicted of criminal offenses, whether publicly or 
privately operated, except that such term does not 
include any residential community treatment center 
(or similar public or private facility). 
(2) ELECTION.—The term ‘‘election’’ means— 
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