A Washington legislative panel this week heard testimony of those wanting the state to change its voter laws to allow convicted felons to register as soon as they leave prison as a way of helping them return to society.
A representative of the Brennan Center for Justice on Tuesday told members of the Senate Government, Tribal Relations, and Elections Committee that under current law, felons can register after they finish community supervision that can be part of their sentence following incarceration. That puts Washington in the middle of a wide range of voter registration laws among the states.
Maine and Vermont allow felons to vote even when they are incarcerated, while Iowa and Kentucky don’t restore voting rights to felons at all. The other 46 states have a wide range of rules for returning the right to vote.
In Washington, people in jail awaiting trial are eligible to vote, while convicted felons in prison or on community custody release are not. The law says a convicted felon’s right to vote can be revoked for failing to make payments on legal financial obligations that are part of a sentence, such as fines, fees, or victim restitution payments, and on the high interest that accrues on them.
The committee is studying changes to voter registration laws in advance of the 2020 session. Democrat Senator Patty Kuderer, of Bellevue, has a proposal to allow felons to register after they leave a Department of Corrections facility and go into community custody, and stay registered as long as they comply with provisions of that custody. It would also remove the possibility of revoking the right to vote for not paying legal financial obligations, which she likens to a poll tax.
The bill passed the committee in the 2019 session but never came to a vote in the full Senate. It could be revived in January. (Spokesman Review)
