Ex-offender voting rights by state

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Ex-Offender Voting Rights by State as of November 2001:

Contents 1 Alabama 2 Alaska 3 Arizona 4 Arkansas 5 California 6 Colorado 7 Delaware 8 District of Columbia 9 Florida 10 Georgia 11 Hawaii 12 Idaho 13 Illinois 14 Indiana 15 Iowa 16 Kansas 17 Kentucky 18 Louisiana 19 Maine 20 Maryland 21 Massachusetts 22 Michigan 23 Minnesota 24 Mississippi 25 Missouri 26 Montana 27 Nebraska 28 Nevada 29 New Hampshire 30 New Jersey 31 New Mexico 32 New York 33 North Carolina 34 North Dakota 35 Ohio 36 Oklahoma 37 Oregon 38 Pennsylvania 39 Rhode Island 40 South Carolina 41 South Dakota 42 Tennessee 43 Texas 44 Utah 45 Vermont 46 Virginia 47 Washington 48 West Virginia 49 Wisconsin 50 Wyoming 51 See also 52 Sources

[edit] Alabama

• The right to vote may be regained only through a pardon.

[edit] Alaska

• Automatically restored upon completion of sentence, probation, and/or parole; felon must register to vote.

[edit] Arizona

• 1st Offense: Rights are automatically restored
• 2nd and subsequent offenses: must apply to court for restoration.
  • If felony convictions resulted in a prison sentence, felon must wait until two years after unconditional release from incarceration or completion of parole before felon can apply.
  • If felony convictions resulted in a sentence of probation, felon may apply for restoration of voting rights immediately upon discharge from probation.

[edit] Arkansas

• Automatically restored upon completion of sentence, probation and/or parole; felon must register to vote. Felon must provide evidence of eligibility to vote after discharge of their sentence.

[edit] California

• Automatically restored upon completion of sentence, probation and/or parole; felon must register to vote.

[edit] Colorado

• Automatically restored upon completion of sentence and/or parole; felon must register to vote.

[edit] Delaware

• A person convicted of murder, manslaughter or any felony constituting a sexual offense or an offense against public administration involving bribery, improper influence or abuse of office, may not have their voting rights restored.
• Any other person who is disqualified as a voter because of a conviction of a crime shall have such disqualification removed upon being pardoned or five years after expiration of sentence, whichever comes first. Expiration of sentence means satisfactory completion of imprisonment, probation, and parole and satisfaction of all financial obligations required by the sentence, including restitution.

[edit] District of Columbia

• Automatically restored upon release from confinement; felon must register to vote.

[edit] Florida

• Civil rights, including the right to vote, are suspended when a person is convicted of a felony. A felon may have his or her civil rights restored by obtaining a full pardon, conditional pardon, or restoration of civil rights from the Governor of Florida.

[edit] Georgia

• Automatically restored upon completion of sentence, probation and/or parole; felon must register to vote.

[edit] Hawaii

• Automatically restored upon release from confinement; felons must register to vote.

[edit] Idaho

• Automatically restored upon completion of sentence, probation and parole; felon must register to vote.

[edit] Illinois

• Automatically restored upon release from confinement; felons must register to vote.

[edit] Indiana

• Automatically restored upon release from confinement; felons must register to vote.

[edit] Iowa

• Must obtain pardon or a restoration of citizenship from the governor.

[edit] Kansas

• Automatically restored upon completion of sentence, probation and/or parole; felon must register to vote.

[edit] Kentucky

• Must obtain a pardon from the Governor.

[edit] Louisiana

• Automatically restored upon completion of sentence, probation and/or parole; felon must register to vote.

[edit] Maine

• Eligibility to vote not affected.

[edit] Maryland

• A first time offender for theft or infamous crime, other than buying or selling votes, the right to vote is automatically restored upon completion of your sentence, including any probation or parole.
• If convicted of two or more such crimes, a person is not eligible to vote unless and until a pardon is obtained.
• If convicted of buying or selling votes, a person is permanently prohibited from voting in Maryland.

[edit] Massachusetts

• Automatically restored upon release from confinement; felon must register to vote.

[edit] Michigan

• Automatically restored upon release from confinement; felon must register to vote.

[edit] Minnesota

• If convicted of treason or of a felony, the right to vote is automatically restored upon discharge from sentence. Discharge occurs either by order of the sentencing court, following stay of sentence or stay of execution of sentence, or upon final expiration of sentence.

[edit] Mississippi

• Right to vote may be restored by a pardon or an executive order issued by the Governor upon discharge from probation. The right to vote may also be restored by a two-thirds vote of the state legislature.

[edit] Missouri

• Automatically restored upon completion of sentence, probation and/or parole; felon must register to vote;
• however, a person is forever disqualified from voting if convicted of a crime connected to the exercise of the right to vote.

[edit] Montana

• Automatically restored upon release from confinement; felon must register to vote.

[edit] Nebraska

• Must obtain a "warrant of discharge" from the Nebraska Board of Pardons to regain the right to vote;
• however, if sentenced to confinement in an adult correctional facility, the felon can only regain the right to vote by applying to the Board of Pardons for a warrant of discharge.

[edit] Nevada

• Felons who have completed probation may apply 6 months after the expiration of their term of probation to have their rights restored.
• Felons who have completed parole or who have served their full sentence may immediately petition the State Board of Parole Commissioners who may petition the district court for restoration of civil rights.

[edit] New Hampshire

• Automatically restored upon release from confinement; felon must register to vote.

[edit] New Jersey

• Automatically restored upon completion of sentence, probation and/or parole; felons must register to vote.

[edit] New Mexico

• Automatically restored upon completion of sentence, probation and/or parole; felons must register to vote.

[edit] New York

• If convicted of a felony and sentenced to incarceration, felon automatically regains the right to vote upon expiration of the maximum time to which he or she was sentenced, or upon discharge from parole, whichever comes first.
• If convicted of a felony but not sentenced to incarceration, or if the sentence was suspended, felon's conviction does not affect the right to vote.

[edit] North Carolina

• Automatically restored upon completion of sentence, probation and/or parole. For a North Carolina conviction, the agency having jurisdiction over a felon at that time he or she was unconditionally discharged is required to issue a certificate to the clerk of the General Court of Justice in the county where the felon was convicted, and that clerk shall then file the certificate with the original record at no fee. Once this is done, the felon can register and vote.

[edit] North Dakota

• Automatically restored upon release from confinement; felon must register to vote.

[edit] Ohio

• Automatically restored upon release from confinement; felon must register to vote.

[edit] Oklahoma

• Once a conviction has become final and the maximum time set forth in the felon's sentence has expired, his or her right to vote is automatically restored.

[edit] Oregon

• Automatically restored upon release from confinement or completion of parole; felon must register to vote.

[edit] Pennsylvania

• Automatically restored upon release from confinement; felon must register to vote; however, if a felon was not registered to vote at the time of his or her conviction, the felon may need to wait 5 years from the date of release from incarceration in order to vote.

[edit] Rhode Island

• Automatically restored upon completion of sentence, probation and/or parole; felons must register to vote.

[edit] South Carolina

• Automatically restored upon completion of sentence, probation and/or parole; felon must register to vote.

[edit] South Dakota

• The right to vote is restored upon termination of a felon's sentence. When the sentence has been fully discharged, including parole, a felon should receive a certificate from the Secretary of Corrections stating that he or she has been restored to the full rights of a citizen. The Secretary should file a copy of the certificate with the sentencing court. After receiving this certificate the felon must register to vote.

[edit] Tennessee

• Persons convicted of murder, aggravated rape, treason, or voter fraud after July 1 1986, or of rape after June 30, 1996, are ineligible to have their voting rights restored.
• For other felony convictions after June 30, 1996, a felon may seek restoration of voting rights after the maximum sentence imposed for his or her conviction has expired, or after the felon has been pardoned, by petitioning the circuit court of the county where the felon lives or was convicted.
• If a felon was convicted after July, 1, 1986 but before June 30, 1996 of a felony other than murder, aggravated rape, treason or voter fraud, a felon may request that either the board of probation and parole or the authority that supervised or incarcerated him or her during the sentence issue a Certificate of Restoration of Voting Rights. A felon is eligible to request this certificate after either being pardoned or after the maximum sentence which was imposed for the conviction has expired.
• Tennessee now has a new voter restoration program for ex-felons: public chapter 860. It makes it much easier, but contains child support requirements, which are being challenged by the ACLU.

[edit] Texas

• Automatically restored upon completion of sentence, probation and/or parole; felon must register to vote; convicted persons may also regain their voting rights if they have been granted a gubernatorial pardon or release from the resulting disability to vote.

[edit] Utah

• Automatically restored upon release from confinement/completion; felon must register to vote.

[edit] Vermont

• Eligibility to vote not affected.

[edit] Virginia

• If convicted of a felony in Virginia, then a felon must obtain a "removal of political disabilities" from the Governor in order to regain the right to vote. A felon is eligible to apply for the removal of political disabilities if he or she completed the sentence more than 5 years ago and if all court costs and restitution have been satisfied.

[edit] Washington

• In order to regain the right to vote, a felon must have his or her civil rights restored. Civil rights are restored by the issuance of a certificate of discharge. When a felon has completed all of the requirements of sentence, Department of Corrections notifies the sentencing court then issues and provides the felon with a certificate of discharge, which will have the effect of restoring the right to vote. A felon must then register to vote.

[edit] West Virginia

• Automatically restored upon completion of sentence, probation and/or parole; felons must register to vote.

[edit] Wisconsin

• Automatically restored upon release from confinement/completion of sentence; felons must register to vote.

[edit] Wyoming

• The right to vote may be regained either by a pardon or by restoration of civil rights. The Governor has the power both to pardon and to restorerights. The Governor may issue certificate of restoration of rights upon a person's completion of probation or expiration of the term of the sentence. A felon must submit a written application to the Governor in order to request a certificate restoring the right to vote.

Note: many states have pending legislation on revising these laws.

[edit] See also

• Voting rights in the United States

[edit] Sources

• United States Department of Justice, December 2000, Updated November 2001 by the National Conference of State Legislatures