Committee carries over bill to require Pardons and Paroles to notify people about voting-rights restoration after lawmakers raise legal and procedural questions

At a Judiciary Committee meeting, lawmakers discussed a bill introduced by Senator Coleman Madison that would require the Board of Pardons and Paroles and the Secretary of State to jointly make instructions and a form available on their websites and to notify county boards of registrars when individuals meet eligibility thresholds to apply for restoration of voting rights.

Senator Coleman Madison, the bill sponsor, said the measure is intended to make the process visible to people who have been convicted and to reduce the burden on individuals trying to learn whether they qualify. "This is a bill involving restoration of voting rights and notifications of those that have been convicted in seeking to restore their voting rights," she said, noting pardons…