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Read. Follow. Verify.Illinois Bill HB 41 Restores Voting Rights Within 14 Days of Felony Conviction and Creates Post-Conviction Task Force
Last action · January 9, 2025: Referred to Rules CommitteeSponsor: La Shawn Ford
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What This Bill Would Do
Illinois House Bill 41 restores the right to vote to individuals convicted of a felony or serving a sentence in a correctional institution no later than 14 days following conviction, starting with the 2026 general election. The measure requires correctional institutions to provide voter registration and mail-in ballot resources, and establishes a Post-Conviction Task Force to report on implementation and compliance.
Incarcerated individuals and persons under state supervision will gain active voting eligibility and institutional assistance for ballot access, while local election authorities and correctional facilities must adopt new administrative coordination procedures.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Incarcerated individuals
Individuals in correctional institutions gain voting eligibility within 14 days of conviction and receive election resource materials and mail-in ballot assistance.
Correctional institutions
Facilities must provide election resource materials, distribute voter applications, coordinate mail-in voting with local election authorities, and screen releasing individuals for Medicaid and voter registration.
Local election authorities
Authorities must coordinate with correctional institutions to facilitate voting by mail for eligible incarcerated voters and process voter registration applications.
State Board of Elections
The Board is authorized to adopt emergency rules, supply election resource materials, and co-author an annual compliance report starting December 31, 2026.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do individuals convicted of a felony regain their right to vote under this bill?
What assistance must correctional institutions provide to incarcerated voters?
What is the purpose of the Post-Conviction Task Force?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Bias ratings based on AllSides / Media Bias/Fact Check
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
3 actions- Jan 9, 2025HouseCommitteeReferred to Rules Committee
- Jan 9, 2025HouseIntroducedFirst Reading
- Dec 6, 2024HouseIntroducedPrefiled with Clerk by Rep. La Shawn K. Ford
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Comprehensive Voting Rights Restoration in Custody
The bill shifts state policy from withholding voting rights during imprisonment to mandating voting eligibility within 14 days of conviction and requiring active institutional support for mail-in voting.
Connected Entities
Sources
ftp.ilga.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance85How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy75Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz60Current news / social attention level
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