1 of 1
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1684 FILED ON: 1/15/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 839
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Russell E. Holmes
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act increasing voter registration and participation to help prevent recidivism.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Russell E. Holmes6th Suffolk1/15/2025 1 of 7
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1684 FILED ON: 1/15/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 839
By Representative Holmes of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 839) of
Russell E. Holmes relative to increasing voter registration and participation of people
incarcerated for felony convictions to help prevent recidivism. Election Laws.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 694 OF 2023-2024.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
_______________
An Act increasing voter registration and participation to help prevent recidivism.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. The General Court finds and declares that:
2 (1) Suffrage is the vanguard of civil rights and liberties and the cornerstone of
3democracy. It is both a fundamental right and a civic responsibility. Reinstating the right to
4suffrage fortifies our democracy by boosting voter turn-outs and helps ex-offenders upon their
5release to reintegrate into society. Voting is an essential part to reassuming the duties of full
6citizenship. Though Massachusetts recognizes these facts, Congress can do more to increase
7voter participation by protecting eligible voters while incarcerated. Congress can also do more to
8enhance voter registration among returning citizens and thereby help deter recidivism. 2 of 7
9 (2) Massachusetts people incarcerated for felony convictions cannot vote in any elections
10in the state while incarcerated. As a result, approximately 8,234 people in Massachusetts are
11currently denied the right to vote. Unfortunately the majority of these disfranchised citizens
12come from the same communities, diminishing the voting power of these communities. From
132015 to 2018 over 60 per cent of those who received new criminal sentences were from just 4
14counties: Suffolk county, Essex county, Middlesex county and Hampden county.
15 (3) Massachusetts disparately incarcerates people of color as well, so while people of
16color make up 18.2 per cent of the state's population, 58 per cent (or 4,982) of people
17disfranchised due to imprisonment are people of color. People incarcerated in prison for other
18reasons, such as pre-trial detention or civil commitments, are allowed to vote by absentee ballot.
19 (4) Maine and Vermont are the only states that allow all incarcerated citizens to vote.
20 (5) Most of the approximately 9,800 people incarcerated in Massachusetts county jails
21and houses of correction can vote in all federal, state, and municipal elections by absentee ballot
22- as long as they are 18 years of age or older, United States citizens and are not incarcerated for
23felony convictions or voter fraud. However, many jails and houses of correction across the state
24do not help incarcerated people obtain absentee ballots, and in fact some give false information
25regarding their voting eligibility. Even when incarcerated people have the funds and knowledge
26to request an absentee ballot, some city and town clerks illegally reject these ballots, leaving
27incarcerated people with little recourse.
28 (6) Massachusetts is one of 14 states that prohibit people from voting while incarcerated
29in prison but return the right to vote immediately upon release, considered the least restrictive 3 of 7
30category of offender disfranchisement. However, evidence suggest that many people assume
31they remain disfranchised upon release.
32 (7) This bill would, though it requires the cooperation of different government agencies,
33concentrate within the department of correction and houses of correction, the responsibility of
34helping eligible voters in their custody obtain absentee ballots and the responsibility of initiating
35the restoration by helping ineligible voters get pre-registered upon anticipation of their release.
36Streamlining these processes conserves government resources and saves taxpayer dollars. This
37act will also require the secretary of state to train city and town clerks on the laws relevant to this
38act.
39 SECTION 2. Chapter 51 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following
40section:–
41 Section 65. (a) A correctional facility, as defined in section 1 of chapter 125, shall be a
42designated agency for the registration of voters pursuant to 52 U.S.C. § 20506. Upon request, a
43correctional facility shall provide voter absentee ballot applications to eligible voters within the
44custody of the facility.
45 (b) The correctional facility shall either provide requesters with a sufficient size envelope
46and postage stamps, or transmit the completed voter absentee ballot application to the
47appropriate city or town clerk responsible for processing absentee ballot request applications in
48the county where the requester claims residence.
49 (c) As part of the release process leading to the discharge of a person who has been
50disfranchised because of a felony conviction, the correctional facility shall provide that person
51with a voter registration form and a declination form, and offer that person assistance in filling 4 of 7
52out the appropriate form. Unless the registrant refuses to permit it to do so, the correctional
53facility shall provide registrant with a sufficient size envelope and postage stamps, or transmit
54the completed voter registration form to the city or town in the county where the registrant
55claims residence.
56 SECTION 3. Chapter 127 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
57section 150 the following section:–
58 Section 150A. (a) Prior to the expiration of a prisoner’s term, the superintendent or
59administrator of the state or county correctional facility shall, in writing, notify the prisoner
60whose term expires that his or her voting rights shall be restored upon discharge; provided, that
61such person’s right to vote was suspended while incarcerated pursuant to Article III of the
62Articles of Amendment of the Constitution.
63 (d) Each superintendent of a state correctional facility and each administrator of a county
64correctional facility shall, on or before the fifteenth day of each month, transmit to the secretary
65of the commonwealth 2 lists. The first list shall contain the following information about persons
66convicted of a felony who, during the preceding period, have become ineligible to vote because
67of their incarceration; the second list shall contain the following information about persons
68convicted of a felony who, during the preceding period, have become eligible to vote because of
69their discharge from incarceration:
70 (i)name;
71 (ii)date of birth;
72 (iii)date of entry of judgement of conviction; 5 of 7
73 (iv)sentence; and
74 (v)last 4 digits of social security number, or driver's license number, if available.
75 (e) The state secretary shall ensure that the names of persons who are eligible and
76registered to vote following their discharge from incarceration are added to the statewide voter
77registration database in the same manner as all other names are added to that database.
78 (f) The state secretary shall ensure that persons who have become eligible to vote because
79of their discharge from incarceration face no continued barriers to registration or voting resulting
80from their felony convictions.
81 (g) The state secretary shall ensure that registrants who submitted registration forms upon
82anticipation of release shall be pre-registered until finally discharged.
83 (h) The state secretary shall develop and implement a program to educate: attorneys;
84judges; election officials; each superintendent of a state correctional facility and each
85administrator of a county correctional facility; the department of correction and corrections
86officials; including parole and probation officers; and members of the public about the
87requirements of this section, ensuring that:
88 (i) Judges are informed of their obligation to notify defendants facing disfranchisement of
89the potential loss and restoration of their voting rights, in accordance with section 29E of chapter
90278;
91 (ii) The department of correction and county correctional facilities are prepared to help
92eligible voters in their custody obtain absentee ballots, including providing sufficient size
93envelopes and postage stamps for mailing, or by forwarding their completed absentee ballot 6 of 7
94application to the appropriate elections official. The department of correction and county
95correctional facilities are also prepared to assist those convicted of a felony with registration to
96vote in anticipation of their discharge, including providing the registrant with sufficient size
97envelope and postage stamps or by forwarding his or her completed voter registration forms to
98the appropriate registration agency;
99 (iii) The language on voter registration forms makes clear that people who have been
100disqualified from voting because of felony convictions regain the right to vote when they are
101discharged from incarceration;
102 (iv) The department of correction is prepared to transmit to the state secretary the
103information specified in this section;
104 (v) Probation and parole officers are informed and prepared to notify probationers that
105their right to vote is restored; and
106 (vi) Accurate and complete information about the voting rights of people who have been
107charged with or convicted of crimes; whether disfranchising or not, is made available through a
108single publication to government officials and the public.
109 SECTION 4. Chapter 278 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
110section 29D the following section:–
111 Section 29E. The court shall not accept a plea of guilty, a plea of nolo contendere, or an
112admission to sufficient facts from any defendant in any criminal proceeding unless the court
113advises such defendant of the following: “You are hereby advised that the acceptance by this
114court of your plea of guilty, plea of nolo contendere, or admission to sufficient facts will result in 7 of 7
115loss of the right to vote only if and for as long as you are incarcerated and your voting rights are
116restarted upon discharge.” The court shall advise such defendant during every plea colloquy at
117which the defendant is proffering a plea of guilty, a plea of nolo contendere, or an admission to
118sufficient facts in any matter considered to be a felony pursuant to Article III of the Articles of
119Amendments of the Constitution.
120 If the court fails so to advise the defendant, and the defendant later at any time shows that
121the defendant’s plea and conviction may have or has had the enumerated consequence, the court,
122on the defendant's motion, shall vacate the judgment, and permit the defendant to withdraw the
123plea of guilty, plea of nolo contendere, or admission of sufficient facts, and enter a plea of not
124guilty. Absent an official record or a contemporaneously written record kept in the court file that
125the court provided the advisement as prescribed in this section, including but not limited to a
126docket sheet that accurately reflects that the notice was given as required by this section, the
127defendant shall be presumed not to have received advisement. An advisement previously or
128subsequently provided the defendant during another plea colloquy shall not satisfy the
129advisement required by this section.