(1) The right to vote is the most basic constitutive 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 supervisory 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 Constitution 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 uniform standard for voting in Federal elections which 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 felony 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) Disenfranchisement results from varying State laws that restrict voting while under some form of criminal justice supervision or after the completion 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 Columbia 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 disenfranchisement.
(6) An estimated 5,300,000 Americans, or about 1 in 41 adults, 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 are ex-offenders. Approximately 2,000,000 of those individuals are individuals who have completed their entire sentence, including probation and parole, yet remain disenfranchised.
(7) In those States that disenfranchise ex-offenders, 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. Offenders convicted of a Federal offense often have additional barriers to regaining voting rights.
(8) 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 one in three of the next generation of African-American men will be disenfranchised at some point during their lifetime. Hispanic citizens are also disproportionately disenfranchised based upon their disproportionate representation in the criminal justice system.
(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 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.
(11) The United States is the only Western democracy that permits the permanent denial of voting rights to individuals with felony convictions.