I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8249 
To prohibit the denial of the right to vote in elections for public office 
on the grounds of owing fines, fees, or restitution relating to a conviction 
of a criminal offense. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 14, 2020 
Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ (for herself, Ms. TLAIB, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. DEUTCH, 
Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. 
NORTON, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. COOPER, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. 
OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. RUSH, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. EVANS, and 
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To prohibit the denial of the right to vote in elections for 
public office on the grounds of owing fines, fees, or 
restitution relating to a conviction of a criminal offense. 
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 ‘‘Removing Monetary 
Barriers to Voting Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
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(1) The 24th amendment to the Constitution of 
the United States prohibits Congress and States 
conditioning the right to vote in Federal elections on 
payment of any poll tax or any other tax, and this 
prohibition was extended to States under the 14th 
amendment in 1964 in Harper v. Virginia Board of 
Elections. 
(2) The right to vote is the most basic constitu-
tive act of citizenship. Regaining the right to vote 
reintegrates individuals with criminal convictions 
into free society, helping to enhance public safety. 
(3) An estimated 6,100,000 citizens of the 
United States, or about 1 in 40 adults in the United 
States, currently cannot vote as a result of a felony 
conviction. As of 2016, an estimated 6,100,000 citi-
zens, or about 1 in 40 adults in the United States, 
could not vote as a result of a felony convictions. 
(4) At least 8 States explicitly prohibit individ-
uals who owe money associated with their criminal 
convictions from voting. At least 22 other States 
have laws that can implicitly prohibit individuals 
from voting because of unpaid legal debts, either 
through requirements that individuals complete pa-
role or probation, which themselves hinge on pay-
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ment of fines, fees or restitution, or clemency re-
strictions based on unpaid legal debts. 
(5) Across the Nation, approximately 10 million 
individuals owe a collective $50 billion in debt re-
lated to the criminal justice system, and findings 
from 14 States show that families on average owe 
$13,600 in fees and fines. 
(6) State disenfranchisement laws additionally 
disproportionately impact racial and ethnic minori-
ties. 
(7) The right to vote additionally 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. The 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 
and 26th Amendments to the Constitution of the 
United States empower Congress to enact measures 
to protect the right to vote. 
(8) Continuing to disenfranchise individuals 
who have outstanding fees, fines, and restitution and 
who are living and working in the community serves 
no State interest and hinders their rehabilitation 
and reintegration into society. 
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SEC. 3. PROHIBITING DENIAL OF RIGHT TO VOTE ON 
GROUNDS OF OWING AMOUNTS RELATING TO 
CONVICTION OF CRIMINAL OFFENSE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The right of an individual to vote 
in any election for public office shall not be denied or 
abridged because that individual owes an outstanding fine, 
fee, or restitution relating to conviction of a criminal of-
fense. 
(b) APPLICABILITY.—The right of an individual to 
vote in any election under subsection (a) shall apply not-
withstanding if such individual is on parole, probation, or 
any other form of supervision solely related to an out-
standing fine, fee, or restitution. 
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) IN GENERAL.—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) RELIEF.—Except as provided in paragraph 
(4), if the violation is not corrected within 90 days 
after receipt of a notice under paragraph (1), or 
within 20 days after receipt of the notice if the viola-
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tion occurred within 120 days before the date of an 
election for public office, the aggrieved person may, 
in a civil action, obtain declaratory or injunctive re-
lief with respect to the violation. 
(3) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—In any action or pro-
ceeding to enforce this Act against any governmental 
body, the court may allow a prevailing plaintiff, 
other than the United States, reasonable attorney’s 
fees as part of the costs, and may include expert 
fees as part of the attorney’s fee. 
(4) EXCEPTION.—If the violation occurred 
within 60 days before the date of an election for 
public office, the aggrieved person need not provide 
notice to the chief election official of the State under 
paragraph (1) before bringing a civil action to obtain 
declaratory or injunctive relief with respect to the 
violation. 
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 
For purposes of this Act: 
(1) CHIEF
ELECTION
OFFICIAL.—The term 
‘‘chief election official’’ means, with respect to a 
State, the individual designated by the State under 
section 10 of the National Voter Registration Act of 
1993 (52 U.S.C. 20509) to be responsible for coordi-
nation of the State’s responsibilities under such Act 
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(2) ELECTION.—The term ‘‘election’’ means— 
(A) a general, special, primary, or runoff 
election for public office; 
(B) a convention or caucus of a political 
party held to nominate a candidate for public 
office; 
(C) a primary election held for the selec-
tion of delegates to a national nominating con-
vention of a political party; or 
(D) a primary election held for the expres-
sion of a preference for the nomination of per-
sons for election to the office of President. 
(3) FEE.—The term ‘‘fee’’ means any sur-
charge, court cost, administrative fee, or any mone-
tary amount imposed to cover the costs of the judi-
cial system or to generate revenue. 
(4) FINE.—The term ‘‘fine’’ means any mone-
tary penalty imposed by a court or other entity as 
punishment for conviction of a crime. 
(5) RESTITUTION.—The term ‘‘restitution’’ 
means any monetary sanction imposed by a court to 
compensate for actual losses resulting from a crime. 
(6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 
the several States, the District of Columbia, the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, 
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Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, and the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 
SEC. 6. RELATION TO OTHER LAWS. 
(a) STATE LAWS RELATING TO VOTING RIGHTS.— 
Nothing in this Act may be construed to prohibit a States 
from enacting any State law which affords the right to 
vote in any election for public office on terms less restric-
tive than those established by this Act. 
(b) CERTAIN FEDERAL ACTS.—The rights and rem-
edies established by this Act are in addition to all other 
rights and remedies provided by law, and neither rights 
and remedies established by this Act shall supersede, re-
strict, or limit the application of the Voting Rights Act 
of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.) or the National Voter 
Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.). 
SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
This Act shall apply with respect to individuals voting 
in any election for public office held after the date of the 
enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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