SB178INTRODUCED
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SB178
RZPVNYY-1
By Senators Coleman-Madison, Stewart, Beasley, Coleman,
Singleton, Smitherman
RFD: Judiciary
First Read: 29-Feb-24
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6 RZPVNYY-1 02/28/2024 ANS (L) cr 2024-589
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First Read: 29-Feb-24
SYNOPSIS:
Under existing law, an individual who has lost
his or her right to vote based upon a past criminal
conviction may apply to the Board of Pardons and
Paroles for a Certificate of Eligibility to Register to
Vote under certain circumstances, including payment of
all fines, court costs, fees, and victim restitution as
ordered by the sentencing court and completion of
probation or parole and release from compliance by the
court or Board of Pardons and Paroles.
This bill would eliminate the application
requirement and the Certificate of Eligibility to
Register to Vote and require the Board of Pardons and
Paroles to restore the voting rights of individuals who
lost the right to vote by reason of conviction of
certain crimes if the individuals have met the criteria
for restoration of voting rights.
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to voting rights; to amend Sections
15-22-36.1, 17-3-31, and 17-4-3, Code of Alabama 1975; to
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15-22-36.1, 17-3-31, and 17-4-3, Code of Alabama 1975; to
eliminate the application requirement and the Certificate of
Eligibility to Register to Vote; and to require the Board of
Pardons and Paroles to restore the voting rights of
individuals who lost the right to vote by reason of conviction
of certain crimes if the individuals have met the criteria for
restoration of voting rights.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Sections 15-22-36.1, 17-3-31, and 17-4-3,
Code of Alabama 1975, are amended to read as follows:
"§15-22-36.1
(a) Any other provision of law notwithstanding, any
personan individual who has lost his or her right to vote by
reason of conviction of a felony in a state, federal, or
foreign court, regardless of the date of his or her sentence,
may apply to the Board of Pardons and Paroles for a
Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote shall have his
or her right to vote restored if all of the following
requirements criteria are met:
(1) The person has lost his or her right to vote by
reason of conviction in a state ,or federal, or foreign court
in any case except those listed in subsection (g)(d).
(2) The person has no criminal felony charges pending
against him or her in any state ,or federal, or foreign court.
(3) The person has paid an amount equal to all fines,
court costs, fees, and victim restitution ordered by the
sentencing court at the time of sentencing on disqualifying
cases.
(4) Any of the following are true on all disqualifying
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(4) Any of the following are true on all disqualifying
cases:
a. The person individual has been released upon
completion of sentence.
b. The person individual has been pardoned.
c. The person individual has successfully completed
probation or parole and has been released from compliance by
the ordering entity.
(b) The Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote
shall be granted board shall restore an individual's right to
vote upon a determination that all of the individual has met
the requirements criteria set forth in subsection (a) are
fulfilled.
(c)(1)Upon receipt of an application under this
section, investigation of the request shall be assigned
forthwith to an officer of the state Board of Pardons and
Paroles. The When an individual who has lost his or her right
to vote by reason of conviction in a state, federal, or
foreign court in any case except those listed in subsection
(e) has met one of the criteria set forth in subdivision
(a)(4), the Board of Pardons and Paroles shall conduct a
review to determine if the individual has complied with the
criteria set forth in subsection (a).
(2) An assigned officer of the board shall verify,
through court records, records of the board, and records of
the Department of Corrections, that the applicant individual
has met the qualifications criteria set out in subsection (a).
If the officer cannot obtain records to verify any criterion
under subsection (a), the individual is deemed to have met the
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under subsection (a), the individual is deemed to have met the
criterion.
(3) Within 30 days of the initial application for a
Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote review, the
officer shall draft a report of his or her findings including
a statement as to whether the applicant individual has
successfully completed his or her sentence and has complied
with all the eligibility requirements criteria provided in
subsection (a).
(d)(4) After completing the investigation review set
out in subsection (c)subdivision (1), the officer shall submit
his or her report of investigation to the Executive Director
of the Board of Pardons and Paroles.
(e)(5) If the report created pursuant to subsection (c)
states that the applicant individual has met all of the
eligibility criteria set forth in subsection (a), and the
executive director or his or her designee attests that the
report has been submitted properly and accurately, the Board
of Pardons and Paroles shall issue a Certificate of
Eligibility to Register to Vote to restore the individual's
right to vote and shall notify the applicant individual that
his or her right to vote has been restored within 14 calendar
days of receipt of the report by the executive director.
(f)(6) If the report created pursuant to this
subsection (c) states that the applicant individual has not
met all of the eligibility criteria set forth in subsection
(a), and the executive director or his or her designee attests
that the report has been submitted properly and accurately,
the Board of Pardons and Paroles shall not issue a Certificate
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the Board of Pardons and Paroles shall not issue a Certificate
of Eligibility to Register to Vote and shall not restore the
individual's right to vote and shall notify the applicant
individual of the decision not to restore his or her right to
vote and provide the reason or reasons for the decision within
14 calendar days of receipt of the report by the executive
director. The notice shall state what measures the individual
must undertake in order to have his or her right to vote
restored. The applicant, upon completion of the eligibility
requirement in subsection (a) for restoration of his or her
rights, individual may submit a new application a written
request for a new review at any time if he or she has met the
certification criteria . Upon receipt of a new request, the
board shall conduct a review pursuant to the requirements set
forth in this subsection .
(g) A person(d) An individual who has lost his or her
right to vote by reason of conviction in a state , or federal,
or foreign court for any of the following will not be eligible
to apply for a Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote
under this section have his or her right to vote restored :
Impeachment, murder, rape in any degree, sodomy in any degree,
sexual abuse in any degree, incest, sexual torture, enticing a
child to enter a vehicle for immoral purposes, soliciting a
child by computer, production of obscene matter involving a
minor, production of obscene matter, parents or guardians
permitting children to engage in obscene matter, possession of
obscene matter, possession with intent to distribute child
pornography, or treason.
(h)(e) This section shall not affect the right of any
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(h)(e) This section shall not affect the right of any
person individual to apply to the board for a pardon with
restoration of voting rights pursuant to Section 15-22-36.
(i)(f) Each state or county correctional facility,
prison, or jail shall post materials to be prepared by the
Secretary of State and the Board of Pardons and Paroles
notifying incarcerated individuals of the requirements
criteria and procedures for having one's voting rights
restored.
(g) No later than September 1, 2025, the Board of
Pardons and Paroles and the Secretary of State shall jointly
develop and make available on each agency's website a form
with instructions for any individual who met one of the
criteria set forth in subdivision (a)(4) prior to October 1,
2024, to submit to the Board of Pardons and Paroles for review
pursuant to the requirements set forth in subsection (c). "
"§17-3-31
(a) Any person individual who is disqualified by reason
of conviction of any of the offenses mentioned in Section
17-3-30.1 as a felony involving moral turpitude for the
purposes of Article VIII Section 177 of the Constitution of
Alabama of 1901 2022, except treason and impeachment , whether
the conviction was had in a state ,or federal, or foreign
court, and who has been pardoned, may be restored to
citizenship with the right to vote by the State Board of
Pardons and Paroles when specifically expressed in the pardon.
If otherwise qualified, such person the individual shall be
permitted to register or reregister as an elector upon
submission of a copy of the pardon document to the board of
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submission of a copy of the pardon document to the board of
registrars of the county of his or her residence. In addition,
any person
(b) Any individual who has been granted a Certificate
of Eligibility to Register to Vote by the Board of Pardons and
Paroles pursuant to Section 15-22-36.1 was registered to vote
at any time prior to losing his or her right to vote by reason
of conviction in a state, federal, or foreign court and has
met the eligibility criteria set forth in Section
15-22-36.1(a), as determined by the Board of Pardons and
Paroles, shall be eligible to vote.
(c) Any individual who was not registered to vote prior
to losing his or her right to vote by reason of conviction in
a state, federal, or foreign court and has met the eligibility
criteria set forth in Section 15-22-36.1(a) as determined by
the Board of Pardons and Paroles, shall be permitted to
register or reregister as an elector upon submission of a copy
of the certificate to the board of registrars of the county of
his or her residence ."
"§17-4-3
(a) Each county board of registrars shall purge the
computerized statewide voter registration list on a continuous
basis, whenever it receives and confirms information that a
person registered to vote in that county has died, become a
nonresident of the state or county, been declared mentally
incompetent, been convicted of any offense designated pursuant
to Section 17-3-30.1 as a felony involving moral turpitude for
the purposes of Article VIII Section 177 of the Constitution
of Alabama of 1901 2022, since being registered, or otherwise
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of Alabama of 1901 2022, since being registered, or otherwise
become disqualified as an elector. Except as provided below, a
person convicted of a disqualifying criminal offense shall be
notified by certified mail sent to the voter's last known
address of the board's intention to strike his or her name
from the list. No person convicted of a disqualifying crime
may be stricken from the poll list while an appeal from the
conviction is pending.
(b) On the date set in the notice, or at a later date
to which the case may have been continued by the board, the
board shall proceed to consider the case of the elector whose
name it proposes to strike from the registration list and make
its determination. Any person whose name is stricken from the
list may appeal from the decision of the board without giving
security for costs, and the board shall forthwith certify the
proceedings to the judge of probate who shall docket the case
in the probate court.
(c) Section 17-3-55 shall apply to any An appeal from
the judge of probate shall be as appeals set forth in Section
17-3-55.
(d) In the event the Board of Pardons and Paroles is
supervising a person an individual convicted of a
disqualifying criminal offense on probation or parole, and the
person individual has received face-to-face counseling from
the supervising officer regarding voter disqualification and
executed documentation explaining the loss and restoration of
civil and political rights, upon receipt of the documentation,
signed by the disqualified elector, the county board of
registrars shall be exempt from providing notice as otherwise
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registrars shall be exempt from providing notice as otherwise
required by this section. The document administered by the
Board of Pardons and Paroles and to be signed by the
disqualified elector shall contain the following statement:
"Any person convicted of a disqualifying felony loses his or
her civil and political rights, which includes the right to
vote. Restoration of these rights may be applied for These
rights may be restored through the Central Montgomery Office
of the Board of Pardons and Paroles , but only upon completion
of the requirements of Section 15-22-36.1 (a)."
(e) The Board of Pardons and Paroles shall provide
signed documentation to county boards of registrars to
indicate those persons individuals under probation or parole
supervision with the board who have been convicted of a
disqualifying criminal offense and been counseled regarding
voter disqualification and the restoration of civil and
political rights, and may otherwise share privileged records
and files with county boards of registrars for the limited
purpose of implementing the requirements of this section.
(f) When the board has sufficient evidence furnished to
it that any elector has permanently moved from one precinct to
another within the county, it the board shall change the
elector's precinct designation in the voter registration list ,
and shall give notice by mail to the elector of the precinct
in which the elector is registered to vote.
(g) The Secretary of State and the Board of Pardons and
Paroles may promulgate adopt rules in accordance with the
Alabama Administrative Procedure Act as necessary to implement
this section."
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this section."
Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2024.
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