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Until they get in touch with him, organizer TJ James says, many people with a felony conviction have no idea that they have the right to vote.
And it’s not for a lack of interest, said James, an organizer with the Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity, or MORE2.
“I’ve had people that I work with where they’ve been told specifically at the polls that they cannot vote,” James said. “They’re being told while in prison, ‘You can never vote again.’ And people, unfortunately, just don’t do the research.”
When a Kansas or Missouri resident is convicted of a felony, the state automatically deletes their voter registration. But once they complete their parole or probation, most people with felony convictions regain the right to vote.
The Sentencing Project noted in October 2023 that nationwide, more than 2 million people with felony convictions have regained the right to vote since 1997.
Can felons vote in Missouri?
Generally speaking, a felony conviction only temporarily suspends a person’s right to vote in Missouri. The only exception is if the felony is related to elections or voting — such as tampering with ballots or threatening voters. Election crimes convictions, both felonies and misdemeanors, cost a person the right to vote in Missouri.
Missouri automatically wipes the voter registration upon conviction of a felony, and the person convicted must reregister once they have completed their sentence, parole or probation.
If a voter has any issues at the polling site — for example, if the poll worker incorrectly tells them that they aren’t allowed to vote because of their felony conviction — James encourages them to call a local election office.
However, if the problem is that the person has not registered, there is no recourse after the voter registration deadline on Oct. 9. Voters must register before that deadline because Missouri does not allow same-day voter registration.
Can felons vote in Kansas?
Like in Missouri, a felony conviction in Kansas results in a temporary loss of the right to vote. Once a person has completed their sentence, parole or probation, they will have to reregister. The Kansas voter registration deadline is Oct. 15.
However, it gets fuzzier when a person owes fines and fees for restitution.
“There are tens of thousands of people in Kansas who are still on probation solely for financial reasons,” said Micah Kubic, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Kansas affiliate.
That is relatively distinct to Kansas, he said.
Legally, probation could be indefinitely extended until those fines are paid. Some judges may choose to end a person’s probation before they’ve fully paid their debt, but it’s ultimately up to the judge’s discretion.
Kubic said that judges in Sedgwick County are less likely to restore voting rights before fines are paid.
Right to vote in jail
Some detainees at county jails in Kansas and Missouri may still be eligible to vote.
In 2022, MORE2 estimated that there may be upward of 400 eligible voters jailed in Jackson County. Kubic estimated that the number of eligible voters in Kansas jails is in the thousands.
“If you are in jail and not been convicted,” James said, “then your voting rights have not been taken away.”
To cast a ballot from jail, voters will need to make sure they are registered to vote and submit an absentee ballot request before the deadline.
In Kansas, the absentee ballot request form must be received by Oct. 29. In Missouri, it must be received by Oct. 23.
Jails may allow voter registration groups to enter, but it varies from county to county.
Kubic said that most counties in Kansas do not have vote-from-jail programs, but the Kansas ACLU is working to make those programs more common.
“(It) can be as simple as allowing the local election commission or county clerk to bring a stack of absentee ballot request forms,” he said. “They don’t have to be complicated to work.”
This article first appeared on Beacon: Kansas City and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.