US-election filter: are felons allowed to vote?

July 5, 2008 5:08 AM

US-election filter: are felons allowed to vote?

I saw a movie last night in which the protagonist implied he had previously committed at least one felony. ("that's right, I'm down to one. just one more felony away from child services taking you.") he, a resident of new mexico, then went on to vote in a presidential election.

I was under the impression that many US states prevent felons from voting and that this could either be until reinstated after a certain number of years or for life.

am I mistaken or did the screenwriters (Richman, Stern - I'm looking at you) miss a hole in their plot?

posted by krautland to law & government (13 comments total)

Florida's approach to this has been in the news lately. This story had an answer to your question, but doesn't have a transcript, bummer.
posted by fantabulous timewaster at 5:23 AM on July 5, 2008

Searching Google for "can felons vote" the third link stated:

"Although some felons have been legally disenfranchised, others have not. Specifically, while only four states allow felons to vote while they are in prison, 18 allow felons to vote while they are on parole and 21 allow them to vote while on probation. Only 10 states permanently disenfranchise all felons and another handful do so to some ex-offenders or restore the ability to vote after a time limit. The Sentencing Project, a prisoner advocacy group, says that 13% of black males are disenfranchised under these laws." - The Straight Dope

The second link from Time magazine mentions 12 states permanently bar an ex-felon from voting, so some states may have changed their rules since 2000 (The time article is from 2006).
posted by Static Vagabond at 5:25 AM on July 5, 2008

Yes - I have friends who were convicted felons. After their sentence was served and they had met the requirements of parole, they filled out paperwork at the local courthouse to restore their right to vote.
posted by bradth27 at 5:25 AM on July 5, 2008

New Mexico no longer has a lifetime ban on felons voting as of 2000.

Laws vary by state. Most states allow voting after parole is completed satisfactorily.

See here (pdf).
posted by selfnoise at 5:26 AM on July 5, 2008

Great data here on state-by-state numbers.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 5:29 AM on July 5, 2008

I work in my county's Voter Registration office. The only people that cannot vote are ones that are currently confined in prison or are serving on parole. Once they have completed their sentence, they can then become active voters. There are stipulations for felonies against election laws, but that applies to very few people. These laws are for South Carolina.
posted by bobber at 7:07 AM on July 5, 2008

Vermont allows felons to vote while in prison.
posted by jessamyn at 7:20 AM on July 5, 2008

You can see a complete chart of what the laws are state by state at the helpful procon site
posted by Lame_username at 7:31 AM on July 5, 2008

Iowa is one of the ten states that "permanently" bans felons from voting, but our last governor granted blanket clemency to all those who had finished their jail time. It looks like the current governor reinstates voting rights from a monthly list of felons who have discharged their sentences.
posted by the christopher hundreds at 7:52 AM on July 5, 2008

I think this is what lame_username meant to link.
posted by the christopher hundreds at 7:53 AM on July 5, 2008

Caveat: I have all of this information on my laptop, which is three hours away. So this is based on my possibly terrible memory.

I think a majority of states bar felons who are currently in prison from voting (in fact, I'm pretty sure only a handful allow it - less then 10). If I remember correctly, more than half of states block people who are on parole from voting. Nearly all states have some way by which you can get your right to vote restored; for some, I'm pretty sure it's as simple as re-registering, but for others, it's sort of a complicated, bureaucratic mess.
posted by dismas at 11:42 AM on July 5, 2008

AFAIK, New York State allows felons on Probation to vote. Not sure about felons in prison.
posted by fvox13 at 7:51 PM on July 5, 2008

BTW, the concept is called Felony Disenfranchisement.
posted by SlyBevel at 10:06 AM on July 7, 2008