MA H839

Designates correctional facilities as voter registration agencies, requiring them to provide absentee ballot applications and postage to eligible incarcerated voters upon request

Requires correctional facilities to offer voter registration forms and assistance to people being discharged after felony convictions, with facilities responsible for transmitting completed forms to appropriate clerks

Mandates monthly reporting by correctional facility superintendents to the Secretary of the Commonwealth listing newly incarcerated felons (now ineligible to vote) and discharged individuals (now eligible to vote)

Requires courts to advise defendants during felony plea colloquies that conviction results in loss of voting rights only during incarceration, with rights restored upon discharge; failure to provide this advisement allows defendants to withdraw their plea

Directs the Secretary of State to develop educational programs for judges, election officials, corrections staff, parole/probation officers, and the public about voting rights restoration for formerly incarcerated individuals