H.B. 1506 Summary

• Allows incarcerated individuals who were Hawaii residents immediately before incarceration to vote in Hawaii elections via absentee ballot.

• Removes the automatic loss of voting rights for persons sentenced for felonies, eliminating language that previously prohibited voting during incarceration and restoring full voting rights upon discharge.

• Requires voter registration applications to include a field for the last voluntary residence address for persons held in correctional facilities.

• Specifies that absentee ballot is the mandatory voting method for all registered Hawaii voters confined in prisons, jails, correctional centers, or community correctional facilities within or outside the state.

• Takes effect July 1, 2019.