1.This Act may be cited as the
Democracy Restoration Act of
2011
.
2.Congress makes the following
findings:
(1)The right to vote
is the most basic constitutive 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 account of race, color, gender or previous condition of servitude. The
14th, 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th Amendments to the Constitution empower
Congress to enact measures to protect the right to vote in Federal
elections.
(4)There are 3 areas
where discrepancies in State laws regarding criminal convictions lead to
unfairness in Federal elections—
(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 voting 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;
and
(C)State
disenfranchisement laws disproportionately impact racial and ethnic
minorities.
(5)Two States do not
disenfranchise individuals with criminal convictions at all (Maine and
Vermont), but 48 States and the District of Columbia 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
individuals are under the supervision of the criminal justice system or after
they have completed a criminal sentence. In 35 States, convicted individuals
may not vote while they are on parole and 30 of those States disenfranchise
individuals on felony probation as well. In 10 States, a conviction can result
in lifetime disenfranchisement.
(7)Several States
deny the right to vote to individuals convicted of certain misdemeanors.
(8)An
estimated 5,300,000 citizens of the United States, or about 1 in 41 adults in
the United States, currently cannot vote as a result 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 have completed their sentence.
Approximately 40 percent of those individuals who are disenfranchised have
completed their entire sentence, including probation and parole.
(9)In those States
that disenfranchise individuals post-sentence, the right to vote can be
regained in theory, but in practice this possibility is often granted in a
non-uniform and potentially discriminatory manner. Disenfranchised individuals
must either obtain a pardon or an order from the Governor or an action by the
parole or pardon board, depending on the offense and State. Individuals
convicted of a Federal offense often have additional barriers to regaining
voting rights.
(10)State
disenfranchisement laws disproportionately 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 1 in 3 of the next generation of African American men will be
disenfranchised at some point during their lifetime. Latino citizens are also
disproportionately disenfranchised based upon their disproportionate
representation in the criminal justice system.
(11)Disenfranchising
citizens who have been convicted of a criminal offense and who are living and
working in the community serves no compelling State interest and hinders their
rehabilitation and reintegration into society.
(12)State
disenfranchisement laws can suppress electoral participation among eligible
voters by discouraging voting among family and community members of
disenfranchised persons. Future electoral participation by the children of
disenfranchised parents may be impacted as well.
(13)The United States is the only Western
democracy that permits the permanent denial of voting rights for individuals
with felony convictions.
3.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.
4.
(a)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)
(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 respect to the violation.
(3)If
the violation occurred within 30 days before 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) before bringing a civil
action to obtain declaratory or injunctive relief with respect to the
violation.
5.Notification of
restoration of voting rights
(a)
(1)On
the date determined under paragraph (2), each State shall notify in writing any
individual who has been convicted of a criminal offense under the law of that
State that such individual has the right to vote in an election for Federal
office pursuant to the Democracy Restoration
Act of 2011 and may register to vote in any such election.
(2)
(A)In the case of such an individual who has been
convicted of a felony, the notification required under paragraph (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 felony
conviction).
(B)In the case of such an individual who has been
convicted of a misdemeanor, the notification required under paragraph (1) shall
be given on the date on which such individual is sentenced by a State
court.
(b)
(1)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 Federal law that such individual has the right to vote in an
election for Federal office pursuant to the Democracy Restoration Act of 2011 and may
register to vote in any such election.
(2)
(A)In the case of such an individual who has been
convicted of a felony, the notification required under paragraph (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 custody
of a State to serve a term of imprisonment for a felony conviction).
(B)In the case of such an individual who has been
convicted of a misdemeanor, the notification required under paragraph (1) shall
be given on the date on which such individual is sentenced by a State
court.
6.For purposes of this Act:
(1)Correctional
institution or facilityThe 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)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)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.
(4)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.
7.
(a)State laws
relating to voting rightsNothing 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)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).
8.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 notified, upon release from such incarceration, of that individual’s
rights under section 3.
9.This Act shall apply to
citizens of the United States voting in any election for Federal office held
after the date of the enactment of this Act.