SB 1608 Summary

• Establishes the Oklahoma Restoration of Voting Rights Act to restore voting rights to people convicted of felonies upon completion of their sentences (discharge from incarceration or suspended sentence).

• Modifies voting eligibility standards so that felony convictions only result in loss of voting rights while a person is under sentence; rights are automatically restored upon discharge rather than remaining permanently disenfranchised.

• Requires courts to notify felony defendants of how conviction affects voting rights and when those rights will be restored upon discharge.

• Designates Department of Corrections and federal correctional institutions in Oklahoma as voter registration agencies, requiring them to assist incarcerated persons with voter registration and notify those being discharged that their voting rights will be restored.

• Requires Department of Corrections to transmit monthly lists to the State Election Board identifying persons who became ineligible or eligible to vote, enabling automatic cancellation and reinstatement of voter registrations in the Oklahoma Election Management System; applies retroactively to all persons eligible under the new law.