OLYMPIA… The Senate passed a bill Wednesday regarding voting rights for convicted felons, but not before Sen. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood, amended the bill to protect the rights of victims. 

Under current law, felons are barred from voting as a penalty for their crime, and under the original version of House Bill 1517, they would have been given back the right to vote upon their release from prison. Carrell says neither of those options provides an incentive for offenders to pay their legal financial obligations to make their victims whole again. 

“This is about making sure that victims are more likely to actually receive restitution,” Carrell said. “My amendment to House Bill 1517 institutes a ‘trust but verify’ system so that offenders coming out of prison can be encouraged to participate in their civic duty, but not without continuing the monthly payments toward full restitution of their crimes.” 

Carrell’s amendment stipulates that if an offender misses three payments of his or her legal financial obligations within a one-year period, either the victim or a court clerk can ask a judge to terminate the voting rights of the offender until 24 consecutive months of future payments are made. 

The amended version of HB 1517 passed the Senate 29-19 and will return to the House of Representatives for concurrence.