I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3335 
To secure the Federal voting rights of persons who have been released 
from incarceration. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 24, 2009 
Mr. CONYERS (for himself, Mr. NADLER of New York, Mr. GRAYSON, Mr. 
GRIJALVA, Mr. STARK, Ms. WATERS, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. NORTON, Mr. 
DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. HINCHEY, Ms. JACK-
SON-LEE of Texas, Ms. KILPATRICK of Michigan, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, 
Mr. RANGEL, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. MEEK of Florida, 
Mr. COHEN, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. CLARKE, Mr. RUSH, Ms. 
SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. 
HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, 
and Mr. HONDA) 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 2009’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) The right to vote is the most basic constitu-
tive act of citizenship. Regaining the right to vote 
reintegrates offenders into free society, helping to 
enhance public safety. 
(2) Article I, section 4 of the Constitution of 
the United States grants Congress ultimate super-
visory power over Federal elections, an authority 
which has repeatedly been upheld by the Supreme 
Court. 
(3) Basic constitutional principles of fairness 
and equal protection require an equal opportunity 
for Americans to vote in Federal elections. 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. The 14th, 
15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th Amendments to the Con-
stitution empower Congress to enact measures to 
protect the right to vote in Federal elections. 
(4) There are three areas where discrepancies 
in State laws regarding felony convictions lead to 
unfairness in Federal elections: (A) there is no uni-
form standard for voting in Federal elections which 
leads to an unfair disparity and unequal participa-
tion in Federal elections based solely on where a per-
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son lives; (B) laws governing the restoration of vot-
ing rights after a felony conviction vary throughout 
the country and persons in some States can easily 
regain their voting rights while in other States per-
sons effectively lose their right to vote permanently; 
and (C) State disenfranchisement laws dispropor-
tionately impact racial and ethnic minorities. 
(5) Disenfranchisement results from varying 
State laws that restrict voting while under some 
form of criminal justice supervision or after the com-
pletion 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 35 States, convicted offenders may 
not vote while they are on parole and 30 of these 
States disenfranchise felony probationers as well. In 
10 States, a conviction can result in lifetime dis-
enfranchisement. 
(6) An estimated 5,300,000 Americans, or 
about 1 in 41 adults, currently cannot vote as a re-
sult of a felony conviction. Nearly 4,000,000 (74 
percent) of the 5,300,000 disqualified voters are not 
in prison, but are on probation or parole, or are ex- 
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offenders. Approximately 2,000,000 of those individ-
uals are individuals who have completed their entire 
sentence, including probation and parole, yet remain 
disenfranchised. 
(7) In those States that disenfranchise ex-of-
fenders, the right to vote can be regained in theory, 
but in practice this possibility is often granted in a 
nonuniform and potentially discriminatory manner. 
Offenders must either obtain a pardon or order from 
the Governor or action by the parole or pardon 
board, depending on the offense and State. Offend-
ers convicted of a Federal offense often have addi-
tional barriers to regaining voting rights. 
(8) State disenfranchisement laws dispropor-
tionately impact racial and ethnic minorities. Eight 
percent of the African-American population, or 
2,000,000 African-Americans, are disenfranchised. 
Given current rates of incarceration, approximately 
one in three of the next generation of African-Amer-
ican men will be disenfranchised at some point dur-
ing their lifetime. Hispanic citizens are also dis-
proportionately disenfranchised based upon their dis-
proportionate representation in the criminal justice 
system. 
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(9) Disenfranchising citizens who have been 
convicted of a felony offense and who are living and 
working in the community serves no compelling 
State interest and hinders their rehabilitation and 
reintegration into society. 
(10) State disenfranchisement laws can sup-
press electoral participation among eligible voters by 
discouraging voting among family and community 
members of disenfranchised persons. Future elec-
toral participation by the children of disenfranchised 
parents may be impacted as well. 
(11) The United States is the only Western de-
mocracy that permits the permanent denial of voting 
rights to individuals with felony convictions. 
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. 
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(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. NOTIFICATION OF RESTORATION OF VOTING 
RIGHTS. 
(a) STATE NOTIFICATION.— 
(1) NOTIFICATION.—On the date determined 
under paragraph (2), each State shall notify in writ-
ing any individual who has been convicted of a 
criminal offense under the law of that State that 
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such individual has the right to vote in an election 
for Federal office pursuant to the Democracy Res-
toration Act and may register to vote in any such 
election. 
(2) DATE OF NOTIFICATION.— 
(A) FELONY CONVICTION.—In the case of 
such an individual who has been convicted of a 
felony, the notification required under para-
graph (1) shall be given on the date on which 
the individual— 
(i) is sentenced to serve only a term 
of probation; or 
(ii) is released from the custody of 
that State (other than to the custody of 
another State or the Federal Government 
to serve a term of imprisonment for a fel-
ony conviction). 
(B) MISDEMEANOR
CONVICTION.—In the 
case of such an individual who has been con-
victed of a misdemeanor, the notification re-
quired under paragraph (1) shall be given on 
the date on which such individual is sentenced 
by a State court. 
(b) FEDERAL NOTIFICATION.— 
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(1) NOTIFICATION.—On the date determined 
under paragraph (2), the Director of the Bureau of 
Prisons shall notify in writing any individual who 
has been convicted of a criminal offense under Fed-
eral law that such individual has the right to vote 
in an election for Federal office pursuant to the De-
mocracy Restoration Act and may register to vote in 
any such election. 
(2) DATE OF NOTIFICATION.— 
(A) FELONY CONVICTION.—In the case of 
such an individual who has been convicted of a 
felony, the notification required under para-
graph (1) shall be given on the date on which 
the individual— 
(i) is sentenced to serve only a term 
of probation by a court established by an 
Act of Congress; or 
(ii) is released from the custody of the 
Bureau of Prisons (other than to the cus-
tody of a State to serve a term of impris-
onment for a felony conviction). 
(B) MISDEMEANOR
CONVICTION.—In the 
case of such an individual who has been con-
victed of a misdemeanor, the notification re-
quired under paragraph (1) shall be given on 
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the date on which such individual is sentenced 
by a State court. 
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 
For purposes of 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— 
(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. 
(3) FEDERAL OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Federal of-
fice’’ means the office of President or Vice President 
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of the United States, or of Senator or Representa-
tive in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, 
the Congress of the United States. 
(4) PROBATION.—The term ‘‘probation’’ means 
probation, imposed by a Federal, State, or local 
court, with or without a condition on the individual 
involved concerning— 
(A) the individual’s freedom of movement; 
(B) the payment of damages by the indi-
vidual; 
(C) periodic reporting by the individual to 
an officer of the court; or 
(D) supervision of the individual by an of-
ficer of the court. 
SEC. 7. RELATION TO OTHER LAWS. 
(a) STATE LAWS RELATING TO VOTING RIGHTS.— 
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit the 
States from 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) 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 
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