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. JACK-
SON LEE, Mr. JEFFRIES, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. 
MOORE, Mr. MORAN, Mr. NADLER, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. RICH-
MOND, 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. 
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 ‘‘Democracy Restoration 
Act of 2014’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress makes the following findings: 
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(1) 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. 
(2) Article I, section 4 of the Constitution 
grants Congress ultimate supervisory power over 
Federal elections, an authority which has repeatedly 
been upheld by the United States Supreme Court. 
(3) Basic constitutional principles of fairness 
and equal protection require an equal opportunity 
for citizens of the United States to vote in Federal 
elections. The right to vote may not be abridged or 
denied by the United States or by any State on ac-
count of race, color, gender or previous condition of 
servitude. The 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 24th, and 
26th Amendments to the Constitution empower Con-
gress to enact measures to protect the right to vote 
in Federal elections. The 8th Amendment to the 
Constitution provides for no excessive bail to be re-
quired, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and 
unusual punishments inflicted. 
(4) There are 3 areas in which discrepancies in 
State laws regarding criminal convictions lead to un-
fairness: 
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(A) The lack of a uniform standard for 
voting in Federal elections leads to an unfair 
disparity and unequal participation in Federal 
elections based solely on where a person lives. 
(B) Laws governing the restoration of vot-
ing rights after a criminal conviction vary 
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 permanently. 
(C) State disenfranchisement laws dis-
proportionately impact racial and ethnic minori-
ties. 
(5) Two States do not disenfranchise individ-
uals with criminal convictions at all (Maine and 
Vermont), but 48 States and the District of Colum-
bia have laws that deny convicted individuals the 
right to vote while they are in prison. 
(6) In some States disenfranchisement results 
from varying State laws that restrict voting while in-
dividuals are under the supervision of the criminal 
justice system or after they have completed a crimi-
nal sentence. In 35 States, convicted individuals may 
not vote while they are on parole and 31 of those 
States disenfranchise individuals on felony probation 
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