HB0115 • 2026

Election Law - Individuals Released From State Correctional Facilities - Automatic Restoration of Voter Registration

Crime Elections

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Delegates Wilkins , Wells , Sample-Hughes , Lehman , and Crutchfield
Last action: 2026-05-12
Official status: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 428
Effective date: 2027-01-01

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not specify that a notification card is required to be sent to individuals whose voter registration has been restored.

Automatic Voter Registration for Released Prisoners

This law requires state agencies to automatically restore voter registration for individuals who were previously registered and are released from a state correctional facility.

What This Bill Does

Requires the State Board of Elections and Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services to develop procedures by January 1, 2028, for restoring voter registration.
The Department must send monthly lists of individuals released from incarceration with their personal information to the State Board.
The State Board must automatically restore voter registration for those who were previously registered before being incarcerated and whose new address is in the state.

Who It Names or Affects

Individuals released from state correctional facilities
State Board of Elections
Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services

Terms To Know

State correctional facility: A prison or jail operated by the State.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify what happens if an individual's new address is outside of Maryland.
It limits the disclosure of information about voter registration through the Department under the Public Information Act.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

743324/1

None • Delegate Grammer

Floor Amendment { 743324/1 (Delegate Grammer) Rejected (33-97)

Plain English: AMENDMENTS TO HOUSE BILL 115 (First Reading File Bill) AMENDMENT NO.

AMENDMENTS TO HOUSE BILL 115 (First Reading File Bill) AMENDMENT NO.
1 On page 1, strike beginning with “ Individuals” in line 2 down through “ of” in line 3; in line 3, after “ Registration” insert “and Conduct of Elections ”; in line 11, before “and” insert “ repealing the requirements that the Baltimore City centralized booking facility provide a ballot drop box to eligible voters and the State Board of Elections provide a ballot drop box to the Baltimore City centralized booking facility; repealing the requirement that each local board of elections designate locations in the county at which ballot drop boxes will be placed and submit the proposed locations to the State Administrator of Elections; repealing security requirements and procedures relating to ballot drop boxes; repealing provisions of law governing permanent absentee ballot status; repealing the au thority to conduct special elections by mail; establishing requirements related to proof of citizenship of individuals registering to vote, voter identification, absentee ballot signature verification, audits of the statewide voter registration list, and t he conduct of municipal elections; establishing requirements related to proof of citizenship of individuals registering to vote, voter identification, absentee ballot signature verification, audits of the statewide voter registration list, and the conduct of municipal elections; restricting absentee voting to individuals who are unable to vote in person due to certain circumstances; establishing prohibitions related to the return of absentee ballots, the counting of absentee ballots, and municipal voter registration of individuals who are not citizens of the United States; ”; strike beginning with “automatic” in line 11 down through “facilities” in line 12 and substitute “ voter registration and the conduct of elections”; after line 12, insert: “BY repealing Article – Correctional Services Section 2–501 and the subtitle “Subtitle 5.
Ballot Drop Box” Annotated Code of Maryland (2025 Replacement Volume) HB0115/743324/1 BY: Delegate Grammer HB0115/743324/01 Grammer Amendments to HB 115 Page 2 of 14 BY repealing Article – Election Law Section 1–101(d–1), 1–303.1, 2–304, 2–305, 3–204(c)(4)(iii)7., and 9–311.1; 9–501 through 9 –507 and the subtitle “Subtitle 5.
Voting by Mail in Special Elections”; and 16–206(a)(11) and (12) Annotated Code of Maryland (2022 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement”; in line 20, strike “3 –203.1” and substitute “ 2–111, 3 –201.1, 3 –203.1, 3 –504.1, 9 – 303(b)(12), 9–310.1, 9–310.2, and 9–407.1”; and after line 22, insert: “BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, Article – Election Law Section 3–403(a) and 9–303(a) Annotated Code of Maryland (2022 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) BY adding to Article – Local Government Section 4–108.6 and 4–108.7 Annotated Code of Maryland (2013 Volume and 2025 Supplement) Preamble WHEREAS, Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of representative democracy; and WHEREAS, Maryland citizens must have confidence that only eligible voters are registered and permitted to cast ballots; and HB0115/743324/01 Grammer Amendments to HB 115 Page 3 of 14 (Over) WHEREAS, Uniform safeguards are necessary to prevent fraud, protect transparency, and ensure every legal vote is counted; and WHEREAS, Secure and transparent procedures, audits, and chain of custody protections are required to maintain public trust in Maryland’s election system; and WHEREAS, The purpose of this Act is to strengthen voter identification requirements, correct and prevent voter registration violations, secure absentee voting, mandate auditable, verifiable elections, ensure municipal elections meet statewide standards, protect the chain of custody of ballots, and affirm that only U.S.

853623/1

None

Favorable with Amendments { 853623/1 Adopted

Plain English: AMENDMENTS TO HOUSE BILL 115 (First Reading File Bill) AMENDMENT NO.

AMENDMENTS TO HOUSE BILL 115 (First Reading File Bill) AMENDMENT NO.
1 On page 1, in the sponsor line, strike “ Delegate Wilkins ” and substitute “Delegates Wilkins, Wells, Sample–Hughes, Lehman, and Crutchfield”; in line 4, after the first “of” insert “ requiring, on or before a certain date, the State Board of Elections and the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services to jointly develop and implement certain procedures and a certain electronic transmission process for the restoration of voter registration for individuals released from incarceration at a State correctional facility;”; in the same line, strike “of Public Safety and Correctional Services”; in line 6, strike “Board of Elections”; in line 7, strike “automatically” and substitute “ promptly”; strike beginning with “voters” in line 9 down through “Department” in line 10 and substitute “the voter registration agency through which a formerly incarcerated voter has registered ”; and strike beginning with “under” in line 10 down through “Act” in line 11 and substitute “to the public”.
AMENDMENT NO.
2 On page 2, after line 26, insert: “(B) ON OR BEFORE JANUARY 1, 2028, THE STATE BOARD AND THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES JOINTLY SHALL DEVELOP AND IMPLEM ENT PROCEDURES AND A N ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION PROCESS THAT COMPLY WITH THI S SECTION FOR THE RESTORATION OF VOTER REGISTRA TION FOR INDIVIDUALS RELEASED FROM INCARCERATION AT A STATE CORRECTIONAL FACILITY.”; in line 27, strike “ (B)” and substitute “ (C)”; in the same line, strike “ WEEKLY” and substitute “ MONTHLY”; and in line 29, strike “ NAME AND NEW RESIDE NTIAL ADDRESS OF” and substitute “FOLLOWING INFORMATION FOR”.

Bill History

2026-05-12 Post Passage
Approved by the Governor - Chapter 428
2026-04-03 Senate
Favorable Report by Education, Energy, and the Environment
2026-03-22 House
Returned Passed
2026-03-19 Senate
Third Reading Passed (30-13)
2026-03-17 Senate
Favorable Adopted
2026-03-17 Senate
Second Reading Passed
2026-03-16 House
Favorable with Amendments Report by Government, Labor, and Elections
2026-03-05 House
Third Reading Passed (100-33)
2026-03-04 House
Floor Amendment { 743324/1 (Delegate Grammer) Rejected (33-97)
2026-03-04 House
Second Reading Passed with Amendments
2026-03-03 House
Favorable with Amendments { 853623/1 Adopted
2026-03-03 House
Motion Special Order until 03/18 (Delegate Grammer) Adopted
2026-03-03 Senate
Referred Education, Energy, and the Environment
2026-01-16 House
Hearing 2/04 at 2:00 p.m.
2026-01-14 House
First Reading Government, Labor, and Elections
2025-07-23 House
Pre-filed
Maryland General Assembly
Text - First - Election Law - Individuals Released From State Correctional Facilities - Automatic Restoration of Voter Registration
Maryland General Assembly
Vote - House - Committee - Government, Labor, and Elections
Maryland General Assembly
Text - Third - Election Law - Individuals Released From State Correctional Facilities - Automatic Restoration of Voter Registration
Maryland General Assembly
Vote - Senate - Committee - Education, Energy, and the Environment
Maryland General Assembly
Text - Chapter - Election Law - Individuals Released From State Correctional Facilities - Automatic Restoration of Voter Registration

Official Summary Text

Requiring by January 1, 2028, the State Board of Elections and the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services to jointly develop and implement certain procedures and a certain electronic transmission process for the restoration of voter registration for individuals released from incarceration at a State correctional facility; requiring the Department to transmit a list that includes the name and certain other information for individuals released from incarceration to the State Board of Elections on a monthly basis; etc.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
Underlining indicates amendments to bill.
Strike out indicates matter stricken from the bill by amendment or deleted from the law by
amendment.
*hb0115*

HOUSE BILL 115
G1 6lr0654
(PRE–FILED) CF SB 241
By: Delegate Wilkins Delegates Wilkins, Wells, Sample –Hughes, Lehman, and
Crutchfield
Requested: July 23, 2025
Introduced and read first time: January 14, 2026
Assigned to: Government, Labor, and Elections
Committee Report: Favorable with amendments
House action: Adopted
Read second time: March 4, 2026

CHAPTER ______

AN ACT concerning 1

Election Law – Individuals Released From State Correctional Facilities – 2
Automatic Restoration of Voter Registration 3

FOR the purpose of requiring, on or before a certain date, the State Board of Elections and 4
the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services t o jointly develop and 5
implement certain procedures and a certain electronic transmission process for the 6
restoration of voter registration for individuals released from incarceration at a State 7
correctional facility; requiring the Department of Public Safe ty and Correctional 8
Services to transmit a certain list of individuals released from incarceration at a 9
State correctional facility to the State Board of Elections in a certain manner; 10
requiring the State Board to automatically promptly restore the voter registration of 11
certain individuals released from State correctional facilities who were registered to 12
vote in the State before being incarcerated; prohibiting certain information 13
regarding voters registered through the Department the voter registration agency 14
through which a formerly incarcerated voter has registered from being disclosed 15
under the Public Information Act to the public; and generally relating to automatic 16
restoration of voter registration for individuals released from Stat e correctional 17
facilities. 18

BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 19
Article – Correctional Services 20
Section 1–101(a), (f), and (q) and 2–601 21
Annotated Code of Maryland 22
2 HOUSE BILL 115

(2025 Replacement Volume) 1

BY adding to 2
Article – Election Law 3
Section 3–203.1 4
Annotated Code of Maryland 5
(2022 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 6

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 7
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 8

Article – Correctional Services 9

1–101. 10

(a) In this article the following words have the meanings indicated. 11

(f) “Department” means the Department of Public Safety and Correctional 12
Services. 13

(q) (1) “State correctional facility” means a correctional facility that is 14
operated by the State. 15

(2) “State correctional facility” includes: 16

(i) the Patuxent Institution; 17

(ii) the Baltimore City Detention Center; and 18

(iii) the centralized booking facility in Baltimore City that is operated 19
by the Division of Pretrial Detention and Services in the Department of P ublic Safety and 20
Correctional Services. 21

2–601. 22

The Department shall: 23

(1) provide each individual who is released from a correctional facility with 24
a voter registration application and documentation with the individual’s discharge papers 25
that informs the individual that the individual’s voting rights have been restored; 26

(2) display a sign in each parole and probation office, in a conspicuous 27
location where notices to the public are customarily posted, indicating that any individual 28
who is no longer incarcerated has the right to vote; and 29

(3) post a notice, in a conspicuous location on the Department’s website, 30
indicating that any individual who is no longer incarcerated has the right to vote. 31
HOUSE BILL 115 3

Article – Election Law 1

3–203.1. 2

(A) IN THIS SECTION, “STATE CORRECTIONAL FACILITY” HAS THE MEANING 3
STATED IN § 1–101 OF THE CORRECTIONAL SERVICES ARTICLE. 4

(B) ON OR BEFORE JANUARY 1, 2028, THE STATE BOARD AND THE 5
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES JOINTLY SHALL 6
DEVELOP AND IMPLEMEN T PR OCEDURES AND AN ELEC TRONIC TRANSMISSION 7
PROCESS THAT COMPLY WITH THIS SECTION FO R THE RESTORATION OF VOTER 8
REGISTRATION FOR IND IVIDUALS RELEASED FR OM INCARCERATION AT A STATE 9
CORRECTIONAL FACILITY. 10

(B) (C) ON A WEEKLY MONTHLY BASIS, THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC 11
SAFETY AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES SHALL ELECTR ONICALLY TRANSMIT TO 12
THE STATE BOARD A LIST THAT INC LUDES THE NAME AND NEW RESIDEN TIAL 13
ADDRESS OF FOLLOWING INFORMATION FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL WHO WAS RELEASED 14
FROM INCARCERATION AT A STATE CORRECTIONAL FACILITY IN THE IMMEDIATELY 15
PRECEDING WEEK MONTH: 16

(1) THE INDIVIDUAL’S FULL NAME; 17

(2) THE INDIVIDUAL’S DATE OF BIRTH; 18

(3) THE LAST FOUR DIGITS OF THE INDIVIDUAL’S SOCIAL SECURITY 19
NUMBER, DRIVER’S LICENSE NUMBER , OR STATE–ISSUED IDENTIFICATION CA RD 20
NUMBER; 21

(4) THE DATE THE INDIVID UAL WAS RELEASED FRO M 22
INCARCERATION; AND 23

(5) THE INDIVIDUAL’S NEW RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 24

(C) (D) ON RECEIPT OF THE LIS T UNDER SUBSECTION (B) (C) OF THIS 25
SECTION, THE STATE BOARD SHALL IDENTIFY EACH INDIVIDUAL ON THE LIST WHO 26
WAS REGISTERED TO VO TE IN THE STATE BEFORE BEING IN CARCERATED AND 27
WHOSE NEW RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS IS LOCATED IN THE STATE. 28

(D) (E) THE STATE BOARD SHALL AUTOMATICALLY PROMPTLY RESTORE 29
THE VOTER REGISTRATION OF EACH INDIVIDUA L IDENTIFIED UNDER S UBSECTION 30
(C) (D) OF THIS SECTION AT T HE INDIVIDUAL’S NEW RESIDENTIAL AD DRESS AND 31
GIVE THE INDIVIDUAL ACTIVE VOTER STATUS. 32
4 HOUSE BILL 115

(E) (F) WITH THE VOTER NOTIFI CATION CARD THAT IS SENT IN 1
ACCORDANCE WITH § 3–301(C) OF THIS TITLE TO EACH INDIVIDUAL WHOSE VOTER 2
REGISTRATION IS REST ORED UNDER SUBSECTIO N (D) (E) OF THIS SECTION , THE 3
ELECTION DIRECTOR SH ALL ENCLOSE A NOTICE THAT INCLUDES A STAT EMENT 4
THAT: 5

(1) THE INDIVIDUAL HAS B EEN REGISTERED TO VOTE AT THE 6
RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS THE INDIVIDUAL PROVIDED TO A STATE AGENCY; 7

(2) THE INDIVIDUAL IS EL IGIBLE TO VOTE IN TH E STATE IN ALL 8
FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL ELECTIONS; AND 9

(3) IF THE INDIVIDUAL WI SHES TO DECLINE VOTE R REGISTRATION, 10
OR IF THE INDIV IDUAL NEEDS TO UPDAT E THE INDIVIDUAL ’S RESIDENTIAL 11
ADDRESS, THE INDIVIDUAL SHOUL D CONTACT THE STATE BOARD OR THE 12
APPROPRIATE LOCAL BOARD. 13

(F) (G) NOTWITHSTANDING THE PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT, THE FACT 14
THAT A PARTICULAR VO TER WAS REGISTERED T HROUGH THE DEPARTMENT OF 15
PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES UNDER THIS S ECTION § 3–506 OF 16
THIS TITLE AND THE PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT, THE IDENTITY OF THE VOTER 17
REGISTRATION AGENCY THROUGH WHICH A FORMERLY INCARCERATED VOTER HAS 18
REGISTERED UNDER THIS SECTION MAY NOT BE DISCLOSED TO THE PUBLIC. 19

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 20
January 1, 2027. 21

Approved:
________________________________________________________________________________
Governor.
________________________________________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Delegates.
________________________________________________________________________________
President of the Senate.