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Voting Status under Realignment of Offenders Convicted of Low-Level Felonies

Voting Status under Realignment of Offenders Convicted of Low-Level Felonies. Lowell Finley Chief Counsel Office of the Secretary of State. New category of low-level felonies: Non-serious Non-sexual Non-violent. For low-level felons:

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Voting Status under Realignment of Offenders Convicted of Low-Level Felonies

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  1. Voting Status under Realignment of Offenders Convicted of Low-Level Felonies Lowell Finley Chief Counsel Office of the Secretary of State

  2. New category of low-level felonies: Non-serious Non-sexual Non-violent For low-level felons: Changes where they serve their sentence from prison to county jail Changes supervision after release from state “parole” to county “post-release community supervision” (PRCS) AB 109 and AB 117 Criminal Justice Realignment Act or CJRA – Overview of Changes

  3. Effective October 1, 2011 • Persons convicted of a low-level felony and sentenced on or after October 1, 2011 • State prisoners sentenced earlier for low-level felonies but released on or after October 1, 2011

  4. 30,000 ft. view of CJRA effects on eligibility to register and to vote • CJRA does not make eligible any person who would have been ineligible under prior law • CJRA does not make ineligible any person who would have been eligible under prior law

  5. Conviction is being found guilty of a crime by a jury or judge A person remains eligible if convicted of but not sentenced for a felony Sentencing is the final imposition by a judge of a specific punishment After being sentenced, a low-level felon is ineligible while serving the sentence or under supervision after release Courts: Voting and the distinction between “conviction” and “sentence”

  6. Under CJRA, four reasons a person convicted of a felony can be incarcerated • Under three of the four, the person is ineligible to register or vote • Under the fourth, the person has been convicted but not sentenced and remains eligible to register and vote

  7. (1) In state prison: Ineligible • No change. The person has been convicted of a felony and sentenced to state prison. While in state prison, the person is ineligible to register or vote.

  8. (2) Sentenced felon in county jail under state-county contract:Ineligible • No change. The person has been convicted of a felony and sentenced to state prison, but is serving the sentence in county jail under a state-county contract. While in county jail, the person is ineligible to register or vote.

  9. (3) Felony sentence to county jail: Ineligible • New. The person has been convicted of a low-level felony and sentenced to a term of more than one year in county jail. While in jail, the person is ineligible to register or vote.

  10. (4) In county jail as a condition of probation in lieu of felony sentencing: Eligible • No change. Person has been convicted of a felony, but judge has suspended felony sentencing, instead ordering probation with the condition that the person serve one year or less in county jail. While in jail, the person remains eligible to register and vote.

  11. Under CJRA, three reasons a sentenced felon may be released, subject to supervision • In all three scenarios, the supervised person is ineligible to register or vote

  12. (1) Parole: Ineligible • No change. Until the period of state-supervised parole ends, ineligible to register or vote

  13. (2) Post-Release Community Supervision: Ineligible • New. A felon sentenced to state prison before October 1, 2011, for what is now defined as a low-level felony, who is released from state prison to county-administered PRCS, is ineligible to register or vote (same as state parole)

  14. (3) Serving concluding portion of a felony county jail sentence on probation: Ineligible • New. While sentencing a person to county jail for a low-level felony, the judge authorizes release on probation for a specified, concluding portion of the term. Until this form of probation ends, the person is ineligible to register or vote.

  15. Questions? Lowell Finley, Chief Counsel 916-653-7244 Lowell.Finley@sos.ca.gov

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