Sponsors (14)
Official title: To guarantee the right to vote for all citizens regardless of conviction of a criminal offense, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 22, 2026 by Ayanna Pressley · Last progress July 22, 2026
The bill broadly expands and clarifies federal voting access for people with criminal convictions and strengthens federal oversight and assistance, at the cost of imposing new administrative, IT, and litigation burdens on states, local officials, correctional facilities, and taxpayers and raising federalism legal questions.
People with felony or misdemeanor convictions (including currently incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, and noncitizen populations affected by criminal convictions) regain or retain the right to vote in federal elections regardless of when they were convicted, creating a uniform federal standard that prevents disparate disenfranchisement across states.
Incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people get meaningful, practical access to register and vote: mandatory written notices of federal eligibility, same-day/10‑day transmission of completed registration forms, access to absentee voting with expedited handling, nonpartisan registration assistance, internet access for voter research, and prompt access to election mail.
Federal agencies (EAC, DOJ) and the Attorney General are required to publish guidance, run public education, and centrally enforce compliance, which should improve awareness, produce consistent remedies for systemic violations, and provide federal oversight to protect voting rights.
State and local election officials, correctional facilities, and taxpayers will face added administrative and recurring costs to restore registrations, process expedited transmissions and absentee ballots, prepay postage, staff intake and mail workflows, and handle higher volumes of mail and electronic submissions.
The Act increases litigation risk and may lead to frequent private suits and emergency court orders (including rushed remedies within a 10‑day pre-election window), creating operational disruptions, rapid procedural changes, and potential legal expenses for states and election administrators.
Congressional imposition of a uniform federal standard for voting eligibility could prompt constitutional and federalism challenges about the scope of Congress's power to set qualifications for federal elections, resulting in litigation and uncertainty.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Prevents denial of federal voting rights based on criminal convictions, requires notice and registration access in carceral settings, and creates enforcement remedies.
Prohibits the United States and any State from denying or limiting a citizen's right to vote in federal elections because of a criminal conviction, including convictions that occurred before the law is enacted. Requires federal and state authorities, courts, probation/parole offices, and carceral settings to notify affected people about their federal voting rights, to provide voter registration access (including by mail) to incarcerated people, and to support a national public information campaign. Creates enforcement tools for the Attorney General and private individuals, including a notice-and-cure process and immediate private causes of action in specific circumstances involving registration and absentee voting for incarcerated people. Clarifies definitions, preserves more protective state laws, mandates pro-voter construction of ambiguous provisions, and contains a severability clause.