S4217-118

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Next Step Home Act.

2. Findings Congress finds the following: The recidivism rates of beneficiaries of the First Step Act (Public Law 115–391; 132 Stat. 5194) is only 12.4 percent compared to the overall recidivism rate of 43 percent for prisoners in prisons operated by the Bureau of Prisons. The success of most individuals released under the First Step Act (Public Law 115–391; 132 Stat. 5194) demonstrates that reducing the population in overcrowded Federal prisons can be done safely and effectively. Extending the Federal franchise to individuals with criminal convictions will further reduce recidivism rates. Basic constitutional principles of fairness and equal protection require an equal opportunity for citizens of the United States to vote in Federal elections. Section 4 of article I of the Constitution of the United States grants Congress ultimate supervisory power over Federal elections, an authority which has repeatedly been upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States. The Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which prohibits excessive bail, the imposition of excessive fines, and the infliction of cruel and unusual punishments, also moves Congress to act when lifetime felony voting bans are used to mistreat those with felony convictions. The 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th amendments to the Constitution of the United States empower Congress to enact measures that further protect the right to vote in Federal elections, and codify the principle that the right to vote may not be abridged or denied by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, gender, or previous condition of servitude. Congress also has independent authority under the 14th, 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th amendments to the Constitution of the United States to ensure elections are conducted without unlawful discrimination. Under these amendments, Congress has the duty to act when incarcerated individuals are treated as second-class citizens through the denial of the vote. The Reconstruction Amendments specifically, which include the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitution of the United States, require full legal and political equality for former slaves and their progeny, many of whom are individuals with criminal convictions today. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States stands out as perhaps the most important amendment given the Equal Protection Clause in section 1 has been the basis on which Federal courts have been able to strike down laws and practices that intentionally discriminate on the basis of race. The rate at which Black men are imprisoned in Federal facilities in the United States raises Equal Protection concerns given that their imprisonment remains many times that of their White counterparts and more than double that of the Hispanic male population, showing huge racial discrepancies in the criminal justice system. Additionally, according to scholars such as Henry Chambers, A reasonably robust vision of the Fifteenth Amendment focuses on the political equality that should have been the culmination of the Reconstruction Amendments. That vision requires that rules and procedures that limit the political equality of minority groups be justified as necessary for the functioning of the electoral system, not that they merely appear colorblind. Such a reading of the Fifteenth Amendment may appear to require affirmative action on the part of States to guarantee minority representation and might appear to conflict with an equally robust reading of the Fourteenth Amendment and its supposed colorblind principle. If this is the case, so be it.. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Public Law 88–352; 78 Stat. 241) and the Voting Rights Act 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.) also extend the authority to Congress to continue to exercise its constitutional authority in this space as appropriate. Congress is also moved to act given the discrepancies in State laws regarding criminal convictions leading to unfairness in Federal elections. As of 2024, 48 States have either temporarily or permanently banned individuals with felony convictions from voting while the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and 2 States, Maine and Vermont, ensure these individuals retain the franchise even while they are incarcerated. In 23 States, individuals with felony convictions lose their access to the franchise only while incarcerated and get their right to vote automatically restored once their prison sentence is completed. These States are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, and Washington. The remaining 25 States have voting laws on the books that are less friendly towards individuals with prior felony convictions. In 14 States, individuals with felony convictions typically have their voting rights restored after parole or probation is completed. These States are Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. In the remaining 11 States, individuals with felony convictions lose their voting rights indefinitely for some crimes or require the pardon of a Governor to get their access to the franchise restored. These States are Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wyoming. Despite their disenfranchisement, individuals with felony convictions continue to be counted as part of State populations for representation purposes in Congress and for the Electoral College. According to author Michelle Alexander in The New Jim Crow, [T]he Census Bureau counts imprisoned individuals as residents of the jurisdiction in which they are incarcerated [through the usual-residence rule].. Disenfranchising citizens who have been convicted of a criminal offense and who are living and working in the community serves no compelling State interest and hinders their rehabilitation and reintegration into society. Finally, the right to vote is the most basic constitutive act of citizenship. Restoring voting rights in Federal elections to individuals with felony convictions will better integrate these individuals into free society, improve public safety, strengthen the overall reentry process in the United States, and move the United States closer to realizing the rehabilitative goals of its broken carceral system.

3. Definitions For purposes of this Act: The term covered individual means an individual who— completes serving a sentence for a conviction under a Federal criminal law on or after December 21, 2018; and has time credits applied toward time in prerelease custody or supervised release pursuant to section 3632(d)(4)(C) of title 18, United States Code; on or after the effective date of the amendments made by section 102(b) of the First Step Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–391; 132 Stat. 5210), receives credit toward the service of the sentence of the individual under section 3624(b)(1) of title 18, United States Code; is placed in prerelease custody or supervised release under section 3624(g) of title 18, United States Code; on or after December 21, 2018— commits a violation of section 401(b)(1) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 841(b)(1)) or section 1010(b) of the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 906(b)) after a prior conviction for a serious drug felony or serious violent felony, as those terms are defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802); and is sentenced for a violation described in subclause (I); is sentenced pursuant to section 3553(f) of title 18, United States Code, for a conviction entered on or after December 21, 2018; is sentenced pursuant to section 924(c)(1)(C) of title 18, United States Code, for an offense— committed before December 21, 2018; and for which a sentence was not imposed before December 21, 2018; receives a reduced sentence under section 404 of the First Step Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–391; 132 Stat. 5222); is an eligible elderly offender, as defined in section 231(g)(5) of the Second Chance Act of 2007 (34 U.S.C. 60541(g)(5)); and is placed in home detention pursuant to section 231(g) of the Second Chance Act of 2007 (34 U.S.C. 60541(g)); or receives a reduced term of imprisonment upon motion of the individual under section 3582(c)(1)(A) of title 18, United States Code. The term election means— a general, special, primary, or runoff election; a convention or caucus of a political party held to nominate a candidate; a primary election held for the selection of delegates to a national nominating convention of a political party; or a primary election held for the expression of a preference for the nomination of persons for election to the office of President. The term Federal office means the office of President or Vice President of the United States, or of Senator or Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress of the United States. The term probation means probation, imposed by a Federal court with or without a condition on the covered individual involved concerning— the individual’s freedom of movement; the payment of damages by the individual; periodic reporting by the individual to an officer of the court; or supervision of the individual by an officer of the court.

4. Rights of citizens The right of a covered individual who is a citizen of the United States to vote in any election for Federal office shall not be denied or abridged because that individual has been convicted of a criminal offense.

5. Enforcement The Attorney General may, in a civil action, obtain such declaratory or injunctive relief as is necessary to remedy a violation of this Act. A person who is aggrieved by a violation of this Act may provide written notice of the violation to the chief election official of the State involved. Except as provided in paragraph (3), if the violation is not corrected within 90 days after receipt of a notice under paragraph (1), or within 20 days after receipt of the notice if the violation occurred within 120 days before the date of an election for Federal office, the aggrieved person may, in a civil action, obtain declaratory or injunctive relief with respect to the violation. If the violation occurred within 30 days before the date of an election for Federal office, the aggrieved person need not provide notice to the chief election official of the State under paragraph (1) before bringing a civil action to obtain declaratory or injunctive relief with respect to the violation.

6. Notification of restoration of voting rights Any covered individual who has been convicted of a criminal offense under Federal law shall be notified in accordance with subsection (b) that such individual has the right to vote in an election for Federal office pursuant to the Next Step Home Act and may register to vote in any such election. In the case of such an covered individual who has been convicted of a felony, the notification required under subsection (a) shall be given— in the case of an covered individual who is sentenced to serve only a term of probation, by the Assistant Director for the Office of Probation and Pretrial Services of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts on the date on which the individual is sentenced; or in the case of any covered individual committed to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons, by the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, during the period beginning on the date that is 6 months before such individual is released and ending on the date such individual is released from the custody of the Bureau of Prisons. In the case of such a covered individual who has been convicted of a misdemeanor, the notification required under subsection (a) shall be given on the date on which such individual is sentenced by a court established by an Act of Congress.

7. Relation to other laws Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit any State from enacting any State law which affords the right to vote in any election for Federal office on terms less restrictive than those established by this Act. The rights and remedies established by this Act are in addition to all other rights and remedies provided by law, and neither rights and remedies established by this Act shall supersede, restrict, or limit the application of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.), the National Voter Registration Act (52 U.S.C. 20501), or the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20901 et seq.).

8. Federal prison funds No State, unit of local government, or other person may receive or use, to construct or otherwise improve a prison, jail, or other place of incarceration, any Federal funds unless that State, unit of local government, or person— is in compliance with section 4; and has in effect a program under which each covered individual incarcerated in that person’s jurisdiction who is a citizen of the United States is notified, upon release from such incarceration, of that individual’s rights under section 4.

9. Effective date This Act shall apply to citizens of the United States voting in any election for Federal office held on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.