Bill restoring felons’ voting rights dies in Washington Senate

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Legislation in Washington to automatically restore the voting rights of convicted felons when they are released from prison has died in the state Senate. According to the Northwest News Network, majority Democrats abruptly ended debate on the bill Wednesday evening when they realized they lacked the 25 votes needed to pass the measure. The felony voting bill was the last measure up for consideration before a key deadline for non-budget related bills to move out of their chamber of origin. Currently, in Washington, felons provisionally regain their right to vote after finishing their prison sentence plus any required term of community supervision. They can lose that right again for failure to pay court fines and victim restitution. Full restoration of voting rights requires a certificate of discharge, a final order of discharge, or court order. Under the Senate bill, convicted felons would automatically have their full voting rights restored upon their release from prison even if they are placed on community supervision. The measure would also abolish the concept of provisional voting rights, meaning if a person violated the terms of their probation, they would not lose their right to vote.  Bill sponsor Democratic Sen. Patty Kuderer plans to reintroduce her measure next year.  (Northwest News Network)