[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 818 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 818
To secure the Federal voting rights of certain qualified ex-offenders
who have served their sentences.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 5, 2007
Mr. Rangel introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To secure the Federal voting rights of certain qualified ex-offenders
who have served their sentences.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Ex-Offenders Voting Rights Act of
2007''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The right to vote is the most basic constitutive 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 constitutional principles of fairness and
equal protection require an equal opportunity for United States
citizens to vote in Federal elections.
(2) Congress has ultimate supervisory power over Federal
elections, an authority that has repeatedly been upheld by the
Supreme Court.
(3) Although State laws determine the qualifications 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
regarding which citizens may vote in Federal elections.
(4) An estimated 5,400,000 individuals in the United
States, or 1 in 40 adults, currently cannot vote as a result of
a felony conviction. Women represent about 650,000 of those
5,400,000.
(5) State disenfranchisement laws disproportionately impact
ethnic minorities.
(6) Thirteen States disenfranchise some or all ex-offenders
who have fully served their sentences, regardless of the nature
or seriousness of the offense.
(7) In those States that disenfranchise ex-offenders who
have fully served their sentences, the right to vote can be
regained in theory, but in practice this possibility is often
illusory.
(8) In 8 States, a pardon or order from the Governor is
required for an ex-offender to regain the right to vote. In 2
States, ex-offenders must obtain action by the parole or pardon
board to regain that right.
(9) 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.
(10) Few persons who seek to have their right to vote
restored have the financial and political resources needed to
succeed.
(11) Thirteen percent of the African-American adult male
population, or 1,400,000 African-American 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.
(12) The discrepancies described in this subsection 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. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Correctional institution or facility.--The term
``correctional institution or facility'' means any prison,
penitentiary, jail, or other institution 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 selection of
delegates to a national nominating convention of a
political party; or
(D) a primary election held for the expression of a
preference for the nomination of persons for election
to the office of President.
(3) Federal office.--The term ``Federal office'' means the
office of President or Vice President, or of Senator or
Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to,
Congress.
(4) Parole.--The term ``parole'' means parole (including
mandatory parole), or conditional or supervised release
(including mandatory supervised release), imposed by a Federal,
State, or local court.
(5) 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 individual;
(C) periodic reporting by the individual to an
officer of the court; or
(D) supervision of the individual by an officer of
the court.
SEC. 4. 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, at the time of the election, such individual--
(1) is serving a felony sentence in a correctional
institution or facility; or
(2) is on parole or probation for a felony offense.
SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Attorney General.--The Attorney General may bring a civil
action in a court of competent jurisdiction to obtain such declaratory
or injunctive relief as is necessary to remedy a violation of this Act.
(b) Private Right of Action.--
(1) Notice.--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) Action.--Except as provided in paragraph (3), if the
violation is not corrected within 90 days after receipt of a
notice provided 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 bring a civil action in such a court to
obtain the declaratory or injunctive relief with respect to the
violation.
(3) Action for violation shortly before a federal
election.--If the violation occurred within 30 days before the
date of an election for Federal office, the aggrieved person
shall not be required to provide notice to the chief election
official of the State under paragraph (1) before bringing a
civil action in such a court to obtain the declaratory or
injunctive relief with respect to the violation.
SEC. 6. RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.
(a) No Prohibition on Less Restrictive Laws.--Nothing in this Act
shall be construed to prohibit a State from enacting any State law that
affords the right to vote in any election for Federal office on terms
less restrictive than those terms established by this Act.
(b) No Limitation on Other Laws.--The rights and remedies
established by this Act shall be in addition to all other rights and
remedies provided by law, and shall not 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 of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg
et seq.).
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