Present law provides that a person is not eligible to apply for a voter registration card and have the right of suffrage restored unless the person is current in all child support obligations. This bill revises this provision to, instead, provide that a person is eligible to apply for a voter registration card and have the right of suffrage provisionally restored if the person enters into a payment plan to become current in all unpaid child support obligations. However, if the person willfully fails to adhere to the terms of the payment plan, then the court that provisionally restored the person's right of suffrage must revoke the person's provisional right of suffrage. Prior to revoking a person's provisional right of suffrage, the court must provide the person with court-appointed counsel and offer the person the opportunity to be heard and to submit proof of the person's financial inability to pay, which may include a signed affidavit of indigency.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 40-29-202