(KTXL) — An amendment proposed in the California Legislature on Monday would allow people incarcerated at state or federal prisons to vote.
Assembly Constitutional Amendment 4, introduced by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan would remove a requirement in the state constitution that the legislature prohibits those prisoners from voting.
Bryan recently responded to a question on Twitter suggesting that prisoners would vote in the district of their “last known home address” rather than in the district where their prison is located.
“Politically, we count people who are incarcerated from the their last known home address.” Bryan tweeted. “Passed the bill to end Prison Gerrymandering last year.”
An existing California law that was also sponsored by Bryan considers an inmate’s “last known place of residence” when drawing voting districts.
According to the Department of Justice, people incarcerated in Vermont, Maine, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico are able to request absentee ballots and do not lose their right to vote while in prison.
Currently in California, you can vote if you are:
-a United States citizen and a resident of Califonia
-18 years old as of election day
-not currently serving a state or federal prison term for the conviction of a felony and
-not currently found mentally incompetent to vote by a court
Constitutional amendments initiated by the legislature need to pass both the Assembly and the Senate with a two-thirds vote and be approved by a majority of voters at the following general election.
