Amendment #13 to H4359

Jail Based Voting

Ms. Miranda of Boston moves to amend the bill, as amended, by adding the following new section:-

SECTION X --

SECTION 16. Chapter 127 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 150 the following section: –

Section 150A.  Each superintendent of a state or county correctional facility and each administrator of a county correctional facility shall, on or before the fifteenth day of each month, transmit to the secretary of the commonwealth the following:-

A list containing  information about persons convicted of a felony who, during the preceding period, have become ineligible to vote because of their incarceration;

A list containing information about persons convicted of a felony who, during the preceding period, have become eligible to vote because of their discharge from incarceration; and

(c) A list containing information about persons detained pre-trial or convicted of a misdemeanor and eligible to vote.

Each list shall include the following information on each person listed: (i) name; (ii) date of birth; (iii) the last 4 digits of social security number, or driver's license number, if available; (iv) address on-file; (v) if held pre-trial or serving a misdemeanor and eligible to vote, the name and address of the jail, prison, or other facility where they are detained; and (vi) race/ethnicity for reporting purposes.

SECTION 16A. Section 18 ¾ of Chapter 6A of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting at the end of subparagraph (i) of clause (12), the following:-

(I) and voter eligibility status and changes.

SECTION 16B.  Chapter 54 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after Section 89 the following new sections:-

Section 89A. (a) The officer in charge of a correctional facility, house of correction, or jail, in this section called a facility, shall:

(1) Develop and publish policies and procedures that govern the facilitation of voting and voter registration for eligible voters in their facilities. These policies and procedures shall account for the following:

(i) Distribution of voter education and election information, including but not limited to through hanging posters and disseminating individualized written notices about voting rights and procedures from the Secretary of the Commonwealth;

(ii) Providing assistance to eligible incarcerated persons to register as voters and apply for mail ballots in all primaries and elections as specially qualified voters. This shall include distributing forms prepared by the state secretary including, but not limited to: (1) ballot request forms; (2) voter registration forms; (3) records that may serve as proof of residence for the purpose of voter registration and/or provide voters with their last known address, such as intake forms, arrest records, or other forms in the possession of the correctional facility; and (4) voter information packets generated by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, community groups, or other stakeholders;

(iii) Providing for the expeditious and timely receipt and return of mail ballots by eligible incarcerated persons which may include delivery by mailing the ballots to the appropriate city or town clerk, or through any other secured means of delivery;

(iv) Establishing locations where persons may complete ballots and other paperwork in private;

(v) Providing  means of tracking the incarcerated people’s complaints related to voting or registration issues, numbers of voters who sought to vote, and the outcome of their requests; and

(vi) Setting policies for collaborating with local elections officials, civic engagement community groups, and other stakeholders.

(2) Hang or distribute any informational posters or packets provided by the Secretary of the Commonwealth pursuant to Section 89B of this chapter not later than July 15 of an even-numbered year, or, if received after that date, immediately upon receipt; distribution and announcements shall be continued through the conclusion of any primary and general election.

(3) Appoint a subordinate officer at the facility to supervise the actions required by this section;

(4) Not later than 14 days before every presidential and regular state primary and biennial state election, file a written report with the state secretary, detailing the actions taken under this section, in a form prescribed by the state secretary. The report shall be a public record.

(b) The requirements detailed in subsections 1, 2, and 4 of subsection (a) shall apply to superintendents or the officer in charge of a “facility” as described in Chapter 123, Section 35.

Section 89B. The State Secretary shall create and distribute voter information signs and information to sheriffs and superintendents for their distribution not less than 90 days prior to all state or presidential primary elections or general elections. The State Secretary shall create and distribute to elections officers information on the qualifications and rights of eligible incarcerated voters, regulations detailing the application process and how to process them in the Voter Registration Information System (VRIS), and current law pertaining to those rights and processes. The state secretary shall promulgate regulations for the implementation of this section not less than 90 days prior to any state or presidential primary or general election.

The state secretary shall issue a report not less than 6 months following each state or presidential primary election and general election. Said report shall include information on:

the number of eligible incarcerated voters at the time of an election in each municipality;

the number of incarcerated voters who requested an absentee ballot and the outcome of that request in each municipality, including the reasons for rejection if applicable;

(c) the number of incarcerated voters who requested to register to vote and the outcome of those requests in each municipality, including the reason for rejection if applicable; and

(d) each municipality’s policies and practices regarding outreach and enfranchisement of eligible incarcerated voters if applicable.

SECTION 16C. Chapter 54 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 91C the following section:-

Section 91D: (a) Applications arriving from a specially qualified voter as defined in section one of chapter fifty, who is confined in a correctional facility or jail, except if by reason of a felony conviction, who cite their return address as the correctional facility or jail where they are confined, and indicate they do not have have not established domicile elsewhere due to housing instability or homelessness, may be presumed to maintain that address for voting purposes should the applicant so choose.

(b)Elections officers shall, prior to declining to execute the certificate of absentee ballot applications submitted by a specially qualified voter  who is confined in a correctional facility or jail, except if by reason of a felony conviction for reasons concerning residency for voting purposes or eligibility, verify the applicant’s eligibility status and residence for voting purposes with the jail or house of correction from where the applicant has applied.

(c) Elections officers shall, 30 days before any municipal, state, or presidential election, post on their website and report to the state secretary any measures to facilitate voting for incarcerated eligible voters.

(d) Elections officers shall make available by request as public record: the numbers of ballot applications received from eligible incarcerated voters, the numbers of rejected ballot applications sent by incarcerated and make note of reason for rejection, and the number of ballots received from eligible incarcerated voters.

SECTION 16D. Chapter 51 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding after section 4A the following section:–

Section 4B. As part of the release process leading to the discharge of a person who has been disenfranchised because of a felony conviction, the correctional facility shall provide that person with a voter registration form and a declination form, and offer that person assistance in filling out the appropriate form. Unless the registrant refuses to permit it to do so, the correctional facility shall provide the registrant with a postage guaranteed  envelope, or otherwise the correctional facility shall transmit the completed voter registration form to the city or town in the county where the registrant claims residence.

SECTION 16E. Chapter 127 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 150 the following section:–

Section 150A. (a) Prior to the expiration of a prisoner’s term, the superintendent or administrator of the state or county correctional facility shall, in writing, notify the prisoner whose term is to expire that their voting rights shall be restored upon discharge; provided, that such person’s right to vote was suspended while incarcerated pursuant to Article III of the Articles of Amendment of the Constitution. If the person’s right to vote was not suspended while incarcerated pursuant to Article III of the Articles of Amendment of the Constitution, the superintendent or administrator of the state or county’s correctional facility shall, in writing, notify the prisoner whose term expires that his or her voting rights shall be maintained upon discharge, and that, if the incarcerated person requested or submitted a mail ballot application or ballot, they maintain the right to vote in-person so long as their mail ballot has not been processed.

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #13, as changed to H4359

Jail Based Voting