§ 17-9.2-3 - Restoration of voting rights.
SECTION 17-9.2-3
§ 17-9.2-3 Restoration of voting rights.– (a) A person who has lost the right of suffrage under Article II, Section 1 ofthe Constitution of Rhode Island because of such person's incarceration upon afelony conviction shall be restored the right to vote when that person isdischarged from incarceration.
(b) Before accepting a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to afelony, and before imposing a felony sentence after trial, the court shallnotify the defendant that conviction will result in loss of the right to voteonly if and for as long as the person is incarcerated and that voting rightsare restored upon discharge.
(c) The department of corrections shall act as a voterregistration agency in accordance with § 17-9.1-8. In this capacity, andas part of the release process leading to a person's discharge from acorrectional facility, the department of corrections shall notify that personin writing that voting rights will be restored, provide that person with avoter registration form and a declination form, and offer that personassistance in filling out the appropriate form. Unless the registrant refusesto permit it to do so, the department of corrections shall transmit thecompleted voter registration form to the state board or local board where theregistrant resides.
(d) The department of corrections shall, on or before the15th day of each month, transmit to the secretary of state two (2) lists. Thefirst shall contain the following information about persons convicted of afelony who, during the preceding period, have become ineligible to vote becauseof their incarceration; the second shall contain the following informationabout persons convicted of a felony who, during the preceding period, havebecome eligible to vote because of their discharge from incarceration:
(1) name;
(2) date of birth;
(3) date of entry of judgment of conviction;
(4) description of offense;
(5) sentence.
(e) The secretary of state shall ensure that the statewidecentral voter registration is purged of the names of persons who are ineligibleto vote because of their incarceration upon a felony conviction. The secretaryof state shall likewise ensure that the names of persons who are eligible andregistered to vote following their discharge from incarceration are added tothe statewide central voter register in the same manner as all other names areadded to that register.
(f) The secretary of state shall ensure that persons who havebecome eligible to vote because of their discharge from incarceration face nocontinued barriers to registration or voting resulting from their felonyconvictions.
(g) The secretary of state shall develop and implement aprogram to educate attorneys, judges, election officials, correctionsofficials, and members of the public about the requirements of this section,ensuring that:
(1) Judges are informed of their obligation to notifycriminal defendants of the potential loss and restoration of their votingrights in accordance with subsection (b) hereof.
(2) The department of corrections is prepared to assistpeople with registration to vote in anticipation of their discharge fromincarceration, including by forwarding completed voter registration forms tothe state board or local board where the registrant resides.
(3) The language on voter registration forms makes clear thatpeople who have been disqualified from voting because of felony convictionsregain the right to vote when they are discharged from incarceration.
(4) The state department of corrections is prepared totransmit to the secretary of state the information specified in subsection (d)hereof.
(5) Probation and parole officers are informed of the changein the law and are prepared to notify probationers and parolees that theirright to vote is restored.
(6) Accurate and complete information about the voting rightsof people who have been charged with or convicted of crimes, whetherdisfranchising or not, is made available through a single publication togovernment officials and the public.
(h) Voting rights shall be restored to all Rhode Islandresidents who have been discharged from incarceration or who were neverincarcerated following felony convictions, whether they were discharged orsentenced before or after the effective date of this section.