Registering to Vote with a Previous Felony Conviction

When you call the office at Partnership for Safety and Justice, chances are I’m the one who answers the phone. I am the Administrative and Development Associate for PSJ and have worked here for almost two years. In the last few months, I’ve been fielding lots of calls from people asking about voting rights for people with felony conviction histories. I’m happy about the number of calls I get because it means more and more people understand how important voting is.

 

One of the nicest parts of answering those calls is that I get to tell people: if you live in Oregon and are not currently in prison, you can register and vote. That’s right – if you’re an Oregonian with a felony conviction all you need to do is register and vote – that’s it! No matter what state you were convicted in, whether your conviction was state or federal, or how many convictions you have, you can register and vote. Even if you’re on parole or probation and even if you’re still paying fines/fees/restitution (also known as legal financial obligations, or LFOs), as long as you are not currently in prison you can register and vote.

 

This is not the case in many other states (see Just Facts on page 22) and most definitely not the case in Washington, where I live. I have a felony conviction. Unlike Oregon, under Washington law, I had to go through a long and complicated process to have my voting rights restored.

 

I began looking into how to get my voting rights restored after receiving a “Get Out the Vote” call in 2004. I was so upset because I wanted so badly to vote in that election, but couldn’t. The race for governor in Washington was so close that I knew every vote would count. As it turns out, the election was even tighter than I thought – the Governor was elected by a mere 133 votes!

 

I started the process of researching how to get my voting rights restored that night. The process was not explained on any website, government or otherwise, that I could find (and I’m pretty good at Internet research). After lots of calling around, I finally found the right office – the Board of Clemency and Pardons in the Governor’s Office. Why was it so hard to even find out what the process is?

 

And once I found it, I learned that the process in Washington is so hard to understand that many government officials misinform people of their rights and of the process. According to the ACLU, the process is so confusing that even the folks you’d think would know (county clerks and probation officers, for instance) often misinform people. (See ACLU Fact Sheet “Voting Rights Restoration in Washington State: Examples of Misinformation Provided to Citizens” at http://www.aclu-wa.org/library_files/VRR_Misinformation.pdf)

 

What I did find out was disheartening and discouraging. The requirements were daunting. First – I couldn’t even start the process until all requirements of my sentence were completed: all my legal financial obligations, such as fines, fees, restitution and other legal costs, had to be paid. I also had to have completed my probationary period. To further complicate and delay matters, I was misinformed by someone at the Washington Attorney General’s office who told me that I had to be off probation for at least three years before I could apply (which turns out not to be true). I had just completed probation in 2004, so I waited.

 

 

In January of 2007 I began the time-consuming and complicated process. I had to get copies of all my legal paperwork. Getting a copy of my presentence investigation report was a real chore. Because my case was federal, only the judge could authorize release of the presentence report. I had to write to my judge – that was nerve wracking! – and ask for permission to have it released to me. Luckily she didn’t object and I was able to get it from the US Probation Office.

 

I had to get a copy of my Judgment and Sentence document, a printout of my criminal history and even my driving record (all of which I had to pay for). I needed letters of reference from at least three people who could “vouch for my good conduct.” I had only one conviction and it still took me nine months to gather all the documents I needed. I can’t imagine how long and hard it would have taken if I’d had more than one conviction or had convictions in different states.

 

I had to fill out a lengthy petition asking for every place I’ve lived and worked for the past five years and every place I’ve ever had a driver’s license in my whole life. I had to write an essay to “describe what you have done to demonstrate your rehabilitation.” I had to sign a waiver and authorization giving the state permission to seek all information about me including “my work record, my reputation, my medical records, my psychological records, my military service records, my criminal history, and my financial status.” To get my voting rights restored in Washington State, I had to prove I was “worthy.”

 

Then I had to mail ten sets of everything to the Board of Clemency and Pardons at the Governor’s Office in Olympia (which I did in September 2007) and wait some more. In response, they sent me a letter signed by a “Legal Affairs Coordinator,” which warned that “I must advise you not to expect positive action by the Board or action by any particular date.”

 

To my great surprise, in a few months I got a letter telling me that I had to have a hearing before the Board in Olympia. It was scheduled for March 2008. This was news to me! Nothing in any of the paperwork I had been sent or completed mentioned a hearing. I appeared as requested, and my petition was granted. A few weeks later I got a letter telling me that my right to vote (and to hold elected office) had been restored. I was able to register soon after and in fact, voted in the Washington State primary election this August – my first votes cast since 2000!

 

It took me from November 2004 to August 2008 to re-register to vote – I wonder how many people who have a felony conviction history in Washington have the ability and tenacity to follow through with a process that is so time-consuming and complicated?

 

According to the Sentencing Project’s “Felony Disenfranchisement Laws in the United States,” an estimated 5.3 million Americans are denied the right to vote because of laws that prohibit voting by people with felony convictions. Nearly 150,000 people in the State of Washington are unable to vote (the term is “disenfranchised”) because of a felony conviction. And less than 1 in 100 disenfranchised people have gone through Washington’s voting rights restoration process. I guess that answers my question.

 

So Oregonians I’m appealing to you. As a person who had to go through “hell and high water” to get my right to vote restored, please don’t take your right to vote for granted. If you’re not registered to vote yet, register to vote today! And when your ballot arrives in mid-October, give your voter’s guide a thorough read and vote. Make sure your voice is counted.

 

As a person who had to go through “hell and high water” to get my right to vote restored, please don’t take your right to vote for granted.

  

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