[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 113 (Friday, July 24, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2009]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                   DEMOCRACY RESTORATION ACT OF 2009

                                  _____
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 24, 2009

  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to introduce the Democracy 
Restoration Act of 2009. This legislation will serve to clarify and 
expand voting rights, as well as assist former felons with their 
reintegration into our democracy.
  The Sentencing Project reports that, since 1997, 19 states have 
amended felony disenfranchisement policies in an effort to reduce their 
restrictiveness and expand voter eligibility. These reforms have 
resulted in more than 760,00 citizens regaining their voting rights. 
Yet, despite these reforms, an estimated 5 million people continue to 
be ineligible to vote in Federal elections, including nearly 4 million 
who reside in the 35 states that still prohibit some combination of 
persons on probation, parole, and/or people who have completed their 
sentence from voting.
  I believe that there are three grave discrepancies in State laws 
regarding felony convictions that lead to unfairness in Federal 
elections. First, there is no uniform standard for voting in Federal 
elections, which leads to an egregious disparity and unequal 
participation in Federal elections based solely on where a person 
lives. Second, 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 permanently. Third, State 
disenfranchisement laws disproportionately impact ethnic minorities, 
thus adversely infringing upon citizens of these communities 
constitutional right to vote.
  These concerns about ex-offender disenfranchisement are not 
rhetorical. In the past two election cycles, flawed voter purges have 
deprived thousands of legitimate voters of their rights. For example, 
an erroneous interpretation of state law by the Ohio Secretary of State 
deprived thousands of ex-felons in that state of even the right to 
register. Only Federal law can conclusively resolve the ambiguities in 
this area plaguing our voting system.
  Like the States, Congress has recognized the need to address the 
barriers to full citizenship faced by ex-offenders. Last Congress, 
President Bush signed the Second Chance Act into law, signaling a 
greater awareness of the need to implement policies to aid the 
reintegration of our ex-felon community. This voting legislation is the 
next step in restoring the ex-felon community to full citizenship. 
Denying voting rights to ex-offenders robs them of the opportunity to 
fully participate and contribute to their society. Disenfranchisement 
laws isolate and alienate ex-offenders, and have been shown to serve as 
one more obstacle in their attempt to successfully reintegrate into 
society. Moreover, these obstacles adversely impact the voting 
participation of their families, further undermining the effectiveness 
of our voting system.
  This legislation is a narrowly crafted effort to expand voting rights 
for ex-felons, while protecting State prerogatives to generally 
establish voting qualifications. This legislation would only apply to 
persons who have been released from prison, and it would only apply to 
Federal elections. Consequently, the bill is fully consistent with 
Constitutional requirements established by the Supreme Court in a 
series of decisions upholding Federal voting rights laws.
  In past Congresses, voting restoration legislation has been supported 
by a broad coalition of groups interested in voting and civil rights, 
including the NAACP, ACLU, the National Council of Churches (National 
and Washington Office), the National Urban League, the Human Rights 
Watch and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, among many others.
  The practice of many states denying voting rights to former felons 
represents a vestige from a time when suffrage was denied to whole 
classes of our population based on race, gender, religion, national 
origin, and property. Ex-felons who have been lawfully released from 
prisons have paid their debts to society. To continue denying them the 
ability to reclaim rights as citizens resurrects historic unenlightened 
practices of our society. Ultimately, I believe that we fail not only 
ex-offenders by denying them the right to vote, but the rest of a 
society that has struggled throughout its history to be legitimate and 
inclusive. Just like poll taxes and literacy tests, it is long past 
time that these restrictions be relegated to unenlightened history.

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