DC city council approves law that allows incarcerated felons to vote

Emergency police reform legislation approved Tuesday by the Washington D.C. city council contains a measure granting convicted felons the right to vote while incarcerated, an allowance currently made by the two states of Maine and Vermont.

The legislation is not expected to face opposition from Mayor Muriel Bowser. According to the Washington Post the bill would eventually expire after a period of 90 days unless officials intervene by passing a permanent edition in the fall. 

The outlet reported that DC does not have any prisons and noted that the bill calls for providing absentee ballots to any felons detained in jail. 

"Federal inmates could request absentee ballots for the November election, but elections officials would not be required to send those ballots to all prisoners this year," the Post noted.

The bill reportedly instructs that next year the District of Columbia Board of Elections should seek District-resident detainees' contact information from the Federal Bureau of Prisons and provide ballots to the incarcerated individuals.

While felons were previously blocked from voting in the nation's capital city, people convicted for a misdemeanor were already allowed to vote while incarcerated. Individuals who had been released from incarceration, including for felony convictions, were also permitted to vote upon release. And people detained on pending charges were also allowed to vote.