Reentry Myth Busters: Voting Rights

The Reentry Myth Busters are a series of fact sheets created by the partner agencies within the Federal Interagency Reentry Council's (FIRC) and intended to clarify existing federal policies that affect individuals who were formerly incarcerated and their families.

This fact sheet addresses the following:

Myth: An individual with a felony conviction can never vote.

Fact: Nearly every state has a restoration process to regain voting rights. Only a few states do not allow reenfranchisement, and those restrictions only apply to a few specific offenses. Generally, it is not a matter of whether one can vote, but how and when one can vote.