STATEMENT ON RESTORATION OF VOTING RIGHTS (from NJ bill)
SENATE 2100/ASSEMBLY 3456
This bill removes the prohibition on voting by persons who are on parole, probation, or serving a sentence due to a conviction for an indictable offense under any federal or State laws.
Under Article II, Section I, paragraph 7, the New Jersey Constitution authorizes the Legislature to deny the right to vote to persons convicted of crimes designated by the Legislature. Under N.J.S.A.2C:51-3, a person who is convicted of a crime is disqualified from “voting in any primary, municipal, special or general election as determined by the provisions of R.S.19:4-1.” In relevant part, R.S.19:4-1 denies the right to vote to any person “who is serving a sentence or is on parole or probation as a result of a conviction of any indictable offense under the laws of this or another state or of the United States.” In New Jersey, indictable offenses are crimes of the fourth through first degree.
The bill provides that persons who are serving a sentence of incarceration for an indictable offense under the laws of this state or another state or the United States would be entitled to vote by mail-in ballot, pursuant to the provisions of “The Vote By Mail Law,” in the district in which they resided immediately prior to incarceration.
The bill, accordingly, also repeals statutory provisions that permit a person to challenge a voter’s right to vote in an election on grounds that the voter is disenfranchised due to a criminal conviction (N.J.S.A.19:15-19); require the commissioner of registration in each county to compare voter registration records with criminal conviction records to prevent disenfranchised persons from voting and registering to vote (N.J.S.A.19:31-17); and criminalize the act of voting while disenfranchised (N.J.S.A.19:34-4).