Can Felons Vote in Colorado? Parole, Probation, and Re-Registering

In Colorado, people with felony convictions can vote. The only time the right is suspended is while you are physically confined in a correctional facility, jail, or other location for a felony conviction. The moment you are released, your eligibility returns automatically, with no application or court order required.¹

When a Felony Takes Your Vote Away

The restriction is tied to confinement, not to having a felony on your record. If you are serving a sentence of confinement for a felony, you cannot register or vote during that time.¹ Once you have served your full term of imprisonment or received a pardon, all rights of citizenship are restored.

Parole, Probation, and Jail

Parole does not block your vote. Since 2019, Colorado has treated someone on parole as having completed their full term of imprisonment for voting purposes, making parolees eligible to register and vote in any election.²

Felony probation does not affect voting rights either. You can register and vote while on probation for a felony.¹

Misdemeanor convictions have no effect at all. Even if you are in jail serving a misdemeanor sentence, you can vote. The same is true for anyone sitting in jail awaiting trial who has not been convicted of a felony.¹ If you are in that situation, contact the jail administrator to coordinate registration and ballot access.

Community Corrections

Halfway houses are where people often get the rules wrong. What matters is your legal status, not the building. If you are placed in community corrections as a condition of felony probation, you can vote. If you are still on Department of Corrections inmate status and have simply been transferred to a community corrections facility, you are still considered confined for a felony and cannot vote.³ Check with your case manager if you are not sure which category you fall into.

Convictions From Other States or Federal Court

If you live in Colorado, Colorado’s rules apply to you regardless of where you were convicted. A felony from another state or from federal court does not change the analysis. As long as you are a Colorado resident and are no longer confined for the felony, you can register and vote in both state and federal elections.¹

You Have to Re-Register After Release

This is the step most people miss. Your eligibility returns the day you walk out, but your prior voter registration was canceled during incarceration. You must register again before you can cast a ballot.¹

You can register online at GoVoteColorado.gov, by mail using a paper form from the Secretary of State’s website, or in person at a county clerk’s office or voter service and polling center.⁴ You will need a Colorado driver’s license, a state ID, or the last four digits of your Social Security number. If your ID expired while you were incarcerated, the Social Security option still works, and you can get a replacement ID afterward.

Colorado accepts registration through Election Day itself, as long as you do it in person at a voter service and polling center in your county.⁴ You can confirm your registration is active at GoVoteColorado.gov before any election.⁵

1
Colorado Secretary of State. Voters with Convictions FAQs
2
Colorado General Assembly. HB19-1266 Restore Voting Rights Parolees
3
Colorado State Public Defender. Voting Rights
4
Colorado Secretary of State. Voter Registration FAQs
5
Colorado Secretary of State. Go Vote Colorado