Alabama
Delaware
Florida
Iowa
Kentucky
Mississippi
Nevada
New Mexico
Virginia
Wyoming
After 2nd Felony Offense:
Arizona
Maryland
Tennessee
Washington

**As of November 2006, three states (Florida, Kentucky, and Virginia) still deny the right to vote to all ex-offenders who have completed their sentences.**

Recent Policy Changes:

• Alabama: In 2003, Governor Riley signed into law a bill that permits most felons to apply for a certificate of eligibility to register to vote after completing their sentence.

• Connecticut: In 2001, Governor Rowland signed into law a bill that extends voting rights to felons on probation. The law is expected to make 36,000 persons eligible to vote.
  

• Delaware: In 2000, the General Assembly passed a constitutional amendment restoring voting rights to some ex-felons five years after the completion of their sentence.
  

• Iowa: Governor Vilsack issued an executive order in 2005 automatically restoring the voting rights of all ex-felons, a process that will continue on a monthly basis upon the completion of sentence.
  

• Kansas: In 2002, the legislature added probationers to the category of excluded felons.
  

• Kentucky: In 2001, the legislature passed a bill that requires that the Department of Corrections inform and aid eligible offenders in completing the restoration process to regain their civil rights.
  

• Maryland: In 2002, the legislature repealed its lifetime ban on two-time ex-felons (with the exception of felons with two violent convictions) and imposed a three-year waiting period after completion of sentence before rights can be restored.
  

• Massachusetts: In 2000, the Massachusetts electorate voted in favor of a constitutional amendment, which strips persons incarcerated for a felony offense of their right to vote.
  

• Nebraska: In 2005, the Legislature repealed the lifetime ban on all felons and replaced it with a two-year post-sentence ban.
  

• Nevada: In 2003, the state approved a provision to automatically restore voting rights for first-time nonviolent felons immediately after completion of sentence.
  

• New Mexico: In 2001, the Legislature adopted a bill repealing the state’s lifetime ban on ex-felon voting. In 2005, a bill was passed that requires the Department of Corrections to provide notification of completion of sentence to the Secretary of State’s office.
  

• Pennsylvania: A Commonwealth Court restored the right to vote to thousands of ex-felons who, as a result, were entitled to vote in the 2000 presidential election.
  

• Rhode Island: In 2006, Rhode Island voters approved a referendum to amend the state constitution and restore voting rights to persons currently serving a sentence of probation or parole.
  

• Tennessee: In 2006, the Tennessee legislature amended the country’s most complex restoration system by greatly simplifying the procedure. All persons convicted of a felony (except electoral or serious violent offenses) are now eligible to have their right to vote restored upon completion of sentence and may apply for a “certificate of restoration” from the Board of Probation and Parole. All applicants must also satisfy any court-ordered restitution or child support obligations.
  

• Texas: In 1997, the Texas Legislature passed a bill, signed by Governor George W. Bush, eliminating the two-year waiting period after completion of sentence before individuals can regain their right to vote.
  

• Utah: In 1998, Utah voters approved an amendment prohibiting persons incarcerated for a felony conviction from voting.
  

• Virginia: The Virginia legislature passed a law in 2000 enabling certain ex-felons to apply to the circuit court for the restoration of their voting rights five years after the completion of their sentence; those convicted of felony drug offenses must wait seven years after completion. The circuit court's decisions are subject to the Governor's approval.
  

• Wyoming: In 2003, Governor Freudenthal signed a bill to allow people convicted of a non-violent first-time felony to apply for restoration of voting rights five years after completion of sentence.
  

Sources: Jamie Fellner and Marc Mauer, Losing the Vote: The Impact of Felony Disenfranchisement Laws in the United States, Human Rights Watch, The Sentencing Project, October 1998; Patricia Allard and Marc Mauer, Regaining the Vote: An Assessment of Activity Relating to Felon Disenfranchisement Laws, The Sentencing Project, January 2000, updates by The Sentencing Project, and Jeff Manza and Christopher Uggen, Locked Out: Felony Disenfranchisement and American Democracy, 2006