I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 259
To secure the Federal voting rights of persons who have been released 
from incarceration. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 8, 2003
Mr. CONYERS (for himself, Mr. FROST, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of 
Texas, Ms. WATERS, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. BROWN 
of Ohio, Mr. RUSH, Mr. OWENS, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. WYNN, Mr. JACK-
SON of Illinois, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. FATTAH, Ms. LEE, Mr. 
CUMMINGS, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. FORD, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, 
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Ms. NORTON, Mr. MORAN of 
Virginia, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, and Mr. KUCINICH) 
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 ‘‘Civic Participation and 
Rehabilitation Act of 2003’’. 
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 3,900,000 Americans, or one 
in fifty adults, currently cannot vote as a result of 
a felony conviction. Women represent about a half 
million 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. Four States do not disenfranchise felons at 
all (Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and 
Vermont). Forty-six 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-two States, convicted offend-
ers may not vote while they are on parole and in 
twenty-nine States probationers may not vote. Four-
teen States disenfranchise ex-offenders who have 
fully served their sentences, regardless of the nature 
or seriousness of the offense. Three-fourths (73%) of
the 3,900,000 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 
eight States, a pardon or order from the Governor 
is required. In two States, ex-offenders must obtain 
action by the parole or pardon board. Offenders con-
victed of a Federal offense often have additional bar-
riers to regaining voting rights. In at least 16 
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 
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 violation occurred 
within 120 days before the date of an election for 
Federal office, the aggrieved person may, in a civil 
action obtain declaratory or injunctive relief with re-
spect to the violation. 
(3) If the violation occurred within 30 days be-
fore the date of an election for Federal office, the 
aggrieved person need not provide notice to the chief 
election official of the State under paragraph (1) be-
fore bringing a civil action to obtain declaratory or 
injunctive relief with respect to the violation. 
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 
For purposes of this Act—
(1) the term ‘‘correctional institution or facil-
ity’’ means any prison, penitentiary, jail, or other in-
stitution or facility for the confinement of individ-
uals 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) the term ‘‘election’’ means—
(A) a general, special, primary, or runoff 
election; 
(B) a convention or caucus of a political 
party held to nominate a candidate; 
(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; and 
(3) the term ‘‘Federal office’’ means the office 
of President or Vice President of the United States, 
or of Senator or Representative in, or Delegate or 
Resident Commissioner to, the Congress of the 
United States. 
SEC. 6. RELATION TO OTHER LAWS. 
(a) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit 
the States enacting any State law which affords the right 
to vote in any election for Federal office on terms less 
restrictive than those established by this Act. 
(b) The rights and remedies 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, restrict, or limit the application of 
the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973 et seq.)
or the National Voter Registration Act (42 U.S.C. 1973–
gg). 
SEC. 7. FEDERAL PRISON FUNDS. 
No State, unit of local government, or other person 
may receive or use, to construct or otherwise improve a 
prison, jail, or other place of incarceration, any Federal 
grant amounts unless that person has in effect a program 
under which each individual incarcerated in that person’s 
jurisdiction who is a citizen of the United States is noti-
fied, upon release from such incarceration, of that individ-
ual’s rights under section 3.
Æ