ACLU: Former inmates living in Idaho can vote

Tue., Sept. 28, 2004

Associated Press

BOISE – The American Civil Liberties Union is encouraging every eligible person in Idaho to vote, and that includes ex-felons who believe they permanently lost that right with their conviction.

The civil rights organization wants former inmates living in Idaho to know that their right to vote was reinstated when they got out of prison and finished parole and probation. A person convicted of a misdemeanor doesn’t ever lose their right to vote.

“Upon completion of their sentences, ex-felons are not commonly informed that their civil rights are automatically restored and that they can register to vote,” said Marty Durand, legislative counsel for the ACLU of Idaho. “Many ex-felons incorrectly believe that they can never vote again.”

For both federal and state elections, the right to vote is determined by the state where an ex-inmate lives.

A felon under custody in the correction system cannot vote, the ACLU said. Someone temporarily held in Idaho may be able to vote through an absentee ballot in their home state.

In Idaho, the right to vote is automatically restored upon satisfactory completion of imprisonment, probation and parole. Then the person can register.

“A lot of people seem to be misinformed,” Durand said. “They think that if they’re convicted, they can never vote again, or have to petition the governor or petition the courts.”

“I live in Idaho and am a voting ex-felon,” one former inmate said in an e-mail to TalkLeft, an Internet site on the politics of crime. “I was under the impression I could not vote until 2003, even though I had finished my sentence around 1997-1998.”

The ex-inmate, who did not sign his or her name, said being able to vote gives a sense of being in the community again.

“It can produce a connectedness where none existed before and a belief that the system can change,” the e-mail said.

Durand said everyone eligible to vote in Idaho should exercise that right. Idaho’s law is fairly enlightened compared with other states such as Florida, she said.

Florida’s law denies ex-felons the right to vote unless they take steps to have their civil rights restored by the state. Six other states have similar laws.

Florida’s governor and Cabinet, serving as the state’s Clemency Board, can restore voting rights to ex-felons who apply after finishing their prison time and parole. But civil rights groups said the process is too difficult, burdensome and costly for former felons.

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