Voting Rights Restoration
Most Americans are unable to vote while serving a prison sentence. Only Maine, Vermont and the District of Columbia permit citizens to continue voting while incarcerated. In ten states, the suspension of voting rights for some individuals may be indefinite for felony convictions even after their time has been served.
Upon release, twenty-three states automatically restore voting rights. Fifteen states will restore the right to vote after parole and probation have been completed. This “automatic” restoration does not mean that returning citizens can just resume voting immediately. They will need to re-register and, in some cases, pay off judicial sanctions before they can cast ballots.
The opportunity to re-engage with community and participate in democracy is a great way to help folks reintegrate with society. However, voter turnout for Americans who qualify for voter restoration is low. These citizens face many hurdles including securing a voting residence, obtaining Voter ID, and earning a paycheck to fulfill financial obligations. Voting may not be a top priority for some people who are rebuilding their lives.
Returning citizens also face informational barriers. Some are not aware that their voting rights may be restored or how the process works. States such as California that actively educate returning citizens about voting experience higher turnout with this population. Our hope is that the YES voting champions sharing their voter stories here will inspire more Americans to reclaim their right to have a voice in our system.
In 2024, four million Americans were blocked from voting due to felony convictions. This figure includes individuals behind bars as well as those who have been released but still are not afforded an opportunity to participate in our democracy. Four million votes could easily be game-changing in a national election. What could happen if every returning citizen became a voter? Through YES, let's empower our citizens to become voters.
Shanlon Wu
If your ability to cast a ballot was removed due to a criminal conviction, often you can get your right to vote back upon completion of your sentence. However, many people are not aware of how the voter restoration process actually works. An expert criminal defense attorney breaks down voter disenfranchisement and voter restoration for returning citizens.
Voting After a Felony Conviction
If you’ve been convicted of a felony in the United States, you may have been stripped of your right to vote. Once disenfranchised, can your ability to participate in elections be restored? Yes, you may be eligible to vote in most states under specific conditions.
Meet Shan Wu
Shanlon “Shan” Wu is a renowned criminal defense and college student defense attorney. Shan served in the Justice Department during the Clinton administration, and is a former federal prosecutor.
A frequent contributor to CNN and NPR, Shan has a knack for making complex topics easy to understand. Shan joins U.S. Vote Foundation (US Vote) to discuss judicial sanctions that disenfranchise voters and how voting rights can be restored.
US.VOTE
Most states restrict people from voting if they are serving time in prison. Maine, Vermont and the District of Columbia do not take away a person's right to vote while incarcerated. Some states are actively considering restoring the ability to participate in elections for people who are incarcerated. Shan, could you clarify on what basis this right is removed or preserved?
Shanlon Wu
Whether it’s voting while incarcerated or voting after a conviction, the crazy-quilt pattern of state laws controlling these questions arises from the U.S. Constitution. The 14th Amendment Section 2 generally states that the right to vote cannot be restricted but makes a specific exception for “participation in rebellion, or other crime.” Relying on this exception, the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed states to enact conflicting laws across the United States regulating whether people convicted of crimes can vote.
US.VOTE
What is the policy in most states for people on parole or probation?
Shanlon Wu
It varies. Like the different state’s laws on what convictions bar one from voting, it depends on the state. There are numerous online resources for finding out the state rules and folks should look at these for their particular states. (Resources include the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.)
US.VOTE
Does it make a difference for voting rights whether someone is convicted of a felony in a state court or a federal court?
Shanlon Wu
No – this distinction is unlikely to matter. While the resources do not often distinguish between convictions under federal laws versus state laws what matters is what the state law says about voting rights after a criminal conviction whether a misdemeanor or a felony. Similarly, state laws all vary about if a criminal case was resolved through certain types of deals with the government such as probation before judgement or so-called “pre-trial diversion.” Totally up to each state.
US.VOTE
Once citizens have completed their sentences, the majority of states restore the right to vote in most cases. However, people who have been convicted of crimes of moral turpitude are commonly excluded from voter restoration. What exactly is a crime of moral turpitude?
Shanlon Wu
Generally, a crime involving moral turpitude involve dishonesty, fraud, deliberate violence, often including sexual assault. But it’s a vague term – frankly outdated – and as with all voting rights after convictions – subject to the definition of the particular state. To find out if a particular conviction falls is considered one of moral turpitude one needs to check in the particular state.
US.VOTE
What impact do you think felony disenfranchisement has on our nation?
Shanlon Wu
The impact is enormously damaging and it’s not just “felony” disenfranchisement since some states even restrict voting rights after misdemeanor convictions. In 2022, it’s estimated that some 4.6 million people are barred from voting due to felony convictions. Consider that in the 2016 election Hilary Clinton won the popular vote by only 2.9 million votes and you can see how significant is the effect of voter disenfranchisement.
The practice should be completely done away with given that at best it arose in a very old antiquated concept of who has “good character” and at worst it has been used to disproportionately take the right to vote away from minorities likes blacks and Latin X given that Black Americans are imprisoned at four times the rates of whites, Native Americans at 4.2 times the rates of whites and Latinx imprisoned at 2.4 times the rates of whites.
While the reasons for this disproportionate application of the criminal justice system are complex and the subject of tons of research and writing the bottom line is that these disenfranchisement laws affect minorities more than whites and therefore contribute to inequality in our country.
US.VOTE
Shan, if you could deliver one message to people about voter restoration, what would it be?
Shanlon Wu
Ask and learn about the law in your state. Don’t depend on just what you have heard. Look it up.
U.S. Vote Foundation’s support of voter restoration is aligned with our mission that Every Citizen is a Voter. We encourage returning citizens to review how to vote in case laws have changed, and to check their voter registration status after judicial sanctions. Voter Accounts at US Vote can be a helpful tool for returning citizens to safely store all their voting information in one place to easily generate forms for any election, get election reminders, and connect with election officials.
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