For both federal and state elections, the right to vote is controlled by the law of the state in which you live.
Some states restrict the right to vote for persons who have been convicted of a crime.
This pamphlet is intended to help you determine whether you are eligible to vote in the state in which you live, and if so, what steps you must take to be permitted to vote. The impact of a criminal conviction on the right to vote varies widely from state to state. Whether you can vote after being convicted of a crime is determined by the state in which you live, not the state in which you were convicted. If you are a resident of California, and you have been convicted of a felony, you cannot vote while you are imprisoned or on parole. If you are a resident of another state who is temporarily incarcerated in California, you may be able to vote by absentee ballot in your home state.