Senate Bill S830B

SIGNED BY GOVERNOR 

2021-2022 Legislative Session
Relates to voting and registration for voting by formerly incarcerated individuals convicted of a felony and to repeal certain provisions of the election law relating thereto

See Assembly Version of this Bill:

A4448

Law Section:

Election Law

Laws Affected:

Amd §§5-106, 8-504 & 3-102, rpld §8-504 sub 5, El L; amd §220.50, CP L; amd §259-i, Exec L; amd §75, add §§510 & 209, Cor L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2015-2016: A7634
2017-2018: A5367
2019-2020: A4987
S830B (ACTIVE) – SUMMARY

Relates to voting and registration for voting by formerly incarcerated individuals convicted of a felony.
S830B (ACTIVE) – SPONSOR MEMO

BILL NUMBER:

S830B

SPONSOR:

View Sponsors

TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the election law, the criminal procedure law, the executive law, and the correction law, in relation to voting by formerly incarcerated individuals convicted of a felony; and to repeal certain provisions of the election law relating thereto

PURPOSE:

This bill would restore voting rights to parolees, post-incarceration to facilitate community reintegration and participation in the civic process, rather than requiring a parolee to wait until he or she has been discharged from parole or reached the maximum expiration date of the underlying sentence.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends the election law to make it clear that no one convicted of a felony and sentenced for said felony for violating New York State Law may vote while incarcerated.

Section 2 of the bill amends the election law to make it clear that no one convicted of a felony and sentenced for said felony via conviction in a Federal Court of a crime that would be considered a felony under the laws of New York State Law may vote while incarcerated.

Section 3 of the bill amends the election law to make it clear that no one convicted of a felony and sentenced for said felony via conviction in another State Court of a crime that would be considered a felony under the laws of New York State Law may vote while incarcerated.

Section 4 repeals certain sections of existing law.

Section 5 of the bill amends the Criminal Procedure Law to add a requirement that at the time of sentencing for a felony offense, defendants be apprised that a conviction will result in the loss of their right to vote while they are serving a felony sentence and the right to vote will be restored – upon their release form custody.

Section 6 of the bill amends the Executive Law to ensure that individuals about to be granted parole are advised and notified in writing that their voting rights will be restored upon release.

Section 7 amends the Executive Law to ensure that individuals about to be released upon parole are advised and notified in writing that their voting rights will be restored upon release.

Section 8 amends the Executive Law to ensure in cases where a revocation of parole that results in reincarceration is contemplated, the individual affected shall receive written notice that this cation will result in the loss of the right to vote for such period and the right to vote will be restored upon release.

Section 9 of the bill amends the Correction Law to ensure that individuals about to be released from State Facilities are notified both verbally and in writing that their voting rights will be restored upon release; they shall be provided a voter registration/declination form and further be provided assistance in filling it out along with voter education materials by the Board of Elections. Either the registering individual or the Department of Corrections shall transmit the completed registration application to the local board of the individual’s residence.

Section 10 of the bill amends the Correction Law to ensure that individuals about to be released from Local Facilities are notified both verbally and in writing that their voting rights will be restored upon release; they shall be provided a voter registration/declination form and further be provided assistance in filling it out along with voter education materials by the Board of Elections. Either the registering individual or the Department of Corrections shall transmit the completed registration application to the local board of the individual’s residence.

Section 11 of the bill amends the Correction Law to ensure that individuals about to be released from Community Supervision are notified both verbally and in writing that their voting rights will be restored upon release; they shall be provided a voter registration/declination form and further be provided assistance in filling it out along with voter education materials by the Board of Elections. Either the registering individual or the Department of Corrections shall transmit the completed registration application to the local board of the individual’s residence.

Section 12 of the bill amends the Election Law to provide for a new outreach program to educate professionals such as lawyers, judges, election officials, corrections officials and the public about the new policy.

Section 13 of the bill contains the enacting clause which provides that sections 1-3 & 7 will go into effect immediately and sections 5-6 & 8-12 will go into effect on the 120th day after the bill shall have become law.

JUSTIFICATION:

This legislation would amend the election law, allowing for the timely restoration of voting rights to individuals who have successfully served their sentence for a felony and been released into community supervision.

The current law essentially withholds the voting rights of individuals released into community supervision for many years, until such time as the underlying maximum sentence has expired or until formal community supervision ends. In many cases, this can add an additional 5-10 years until the individual can formally reintegrate into the electoral process through the simple act of registering to vote. If the goal of imprisonment is truly to prevent individuals from straying from the confines of our laws and society’s norms, then facilitation reentrance into the voting process should be an essential component of rehabilitation and reintegration during community supervision. It is the goal of this legislation to allow individuals who have paid the most significant portion of their debt to society to be provided with a rehabilitative tool of, the highest order-the rational reinstatement of their right to vote.

Currently, 14 states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Montana, Utah and New Hampshire provide individuals released into community supervision the right to vote, and two states, Maine and Vermont, do not take away the voting rights of felons at all. With other vital voting reforms already passing this year, we must make sure that no silenced population is forgotten in the pursuit of restoring and expanding that ever-favorite process of our just democracy-the right to vote.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2015-16: S.2023/A.7634; referred to Elections Committee; ordered to third reading in Assembly.

2017-18: S.960/A.5367; referred to Elections Committee; ordered to third reading in Assembly.

2019-20: 5.1931-A/A.4987; referred to Elections Committee in both houses.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None Noted.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

Sections 1-3 & 7 will go into effect immediately and sections 4-6 & 8-12 will go into. effect on the 120th day after the bill shall have become law.