New York legislators approved a bill that would immediately restore voting rights to prisoners once they are released

• New York legislators passed a bill restoring voting rights to New Yorkers convicted of felonies.
• The bill lets such New Yorkers register to vote after being released from prison.
• The bill is now headed to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's desk for approval.

The New York State Assembly passed a bill on Wednesday that would automatically restore voting rights to incarcerated New Yorkers convicted of felonies once they are released from prison.

The bill is now being sent to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for him to sign, according to the New York State Senate's website.

If it's signed by Cuomo, the bill would allow formerly incarcerated people convicted of felonies to register to vote and vote in elections at local, state, and federal levels.

In 2018, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order that restored voting rights to people with felony convictions, but the new bill would make that permanent, according to ABC News.

It would also change the length of time time in which formerly convicted people have to wait before registering to vote or voting - instead of waiting until the final date of their sentence, they would be able to register once they are on parole, according to the Legislative Gazette.