In most of the United States, people serving a felony prison sentence cannot vote. Only Maine, Vermont, and Washington, D.C. let incarcerated citizens cast ballots from behind bars. So the short answer to whether prisoners can vote in the US is: almost never during the sentence, and whether the right comes back after release depends entirely on the state.
Roughly four million Americans were unable to vote in the most recent national count because of a felony conviction. There is no single federal rule. The Constitution lets each state decide, and they have decided very differently.
The Three Places That Let Prisoners Vote
Maine and Vermont have never taken voting rights away for incarceration. Washington, D.C. joined them in 2021 under the Restore the Vote Amendment Act, which directs the Department of Corrections to register eligible voters in its custody and get ballots to them.1D.C. Law Library. D.C. Law 23-277 Restore the Vote Amendment Act of 2020
Every other state strips voting rights for the duration of a felony prison sentence, at minimum. Many go further.
Jail Is Not the Same as Prison
If you are in jail but have not been convicted of a felony, you keep the right to vote. That covers two big groups: pretrial detainees who could not post bail and are legally presumed innocent, and people serving misdemeanor sentences. The Supreme Court confirmed in O’Brien v. Skinner that a state cannot cut these voters off from every method of voting.2Justia Supreme Court. O’Brien v. Skinner, 414 U.S. 524 (1974)
In practice, voting from a jail cell is hard. Jails rarely set up polling places, and getting an absentee ballot application, filling it out, and returning it on time depends on staff cooperation. Courts have generally accepted that making a mail-in ballot theoretically available is enough, even when the jail does little to help.
When Voting Rights Come Back After Prison
Once someone leaves prison, states fall into roughly four groups. Two people with identical convictions released on the same day into different states can face wildly different paths.
Rights Restored the Day You Walk Out
About a dozen states plus D.C. restore voting rights the moment a person is released, whether or not they still owe parole or probation time. Those states include Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Utah. Minnesota and New Mexico joined the group in 2023.
Rights Restored After Parole or Probation
Some states restore rights after release from prison and discharge from parole but let probationers vote. California landed here after Proposition 17 in 2020. Colorado, Connecticut, New York, and South Dakota follow a similar model, with variations in the exact trigger.
A larger group requires completion of the full sentence, including both parole and probation, before rights return. That list includes Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Rights Restored Only by Petition
In some states, finishing the sentence is not enough. You have to apply. Alabama, Delaware, Mississippi, Nevada, Tennessee, and Wyoming tie restoration to the type of conviction or require an individual petition. Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, and Virginia have historically required a formal application to the government. These processes tend to be slow, and approval is not guaranteed.
When Unpaid Fines and Fees Block You
Several states condition restoration on paying every court-ordered financial obligation, including fines, fees, and restitution. Someone who served their full prison term, finished parole, and stayed clean for years can still be blocked because they owe the court money. Debts can range from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands, often with interest. This is one of the most common practical barriers to getting the vote back.
Federal, Out-of-State, and Military Convictions
There is no separate federal voting-rights track. If you were convicted of a federal felony, your ability to vote is set by the state where you live, not by the federal government or the state where you were prosecuted. The same goes for out-of-state convictions: if you were convicted in one state and now live in another, the state where you currently reside controls.
Military convictions work the same way. A general court-martial resulting in a dishonorable discharge is treated like a felony conviction for voting purposes, and your state of residence decides what happens next. The discharge itself does not create a separate federal voting ban.
Crimes That Trigger Permanent Loss
Not every felony is treated the same. A number of states impose harsher or permanent disenfranchisement for specific offenses, most often murder and felony sexual offenses. Florida’s 2018 constitutional amendment restored rights for most felony convictions upon completion of sentence but carved out murder and sexual offenses, which require individual clemency from the state’s executive board. Other states draw similar lines.
A few states also distinguish first-time from repeat offenders. In Arizona, automatic restoration applies only to a first felony conviction, and only after all victim restitution is paid. A second or later conviction requires a court application.
How to Get Your Rights Restored in a Petition State
If you live in a state where the vote does not come back automatically, expect paperwork, documentation, and waiting. The steps look similar across states.
- Confirm your sentence is fully completed and, if your state requires it, that all fines, fees, and restitution are paid. Court records are the main source. Certified copies from the clerk of court that handled your case typically cost $4 to $40 depending on the jurisdiction.
- Get the right application. Forms usually come from the Secretary of State, the Board of Elections, or an equivalent agency. Some states put them online; others require a mail or in-person request. The form will ask about your conviction, sentence completion, ID, and current address.
- Gather supporting documents. Common requirements include court records showing the conviction and sentence, proof of release or discharge from supervision, and receipts showing financial obligations are satisfied. A certificate of discharge from the corrections department is often needed if you served state or federal prison time.
- Submit and wait. Some states issue an advisory opinion within about 90 days. Others have long backlogs, especially where a clemency board reviews each case. There is usually no way to speed things up.
One thing to know: restoration of rights does not register you to vote. Once your rights are back, you still have to register through the normal process for your state.
If You Are Wrongly Told You Cannot Vote
Criminal records are often incomplete or inaccurate, and election officials sometimes rely on flawed databases to flag voters as ineligible. If you are turned away at the polls because of a felony conviction, you have options.
Under the Help America Vote Act, anyone whose eligibility is questioned can cast a provisional ballot. It is set aside and reviewed rather than counted on the spot, but it preserves your vote while officials check. If they confirm you were eligible, the ballot counts. The provisional-ballot process varies. Some states ask you to bring evidence to the county election office within a few days of the election; others handle the review internally.
If you think the underlying records are wrong, contact the clerk of court where your case was handled. Sentencing records, discharge dates, and offense classifications all get miscoded. You can also contact your state’s election office directly to ask why you were flagged and what would fix it. Some states offer a formal challenge or hearing where you can present evidence. The earlier you deal with a records error, the better your chances of resolving it before the next election instead of at the polling place.