Under Pennsylvania law, felons who have been released from prison or will be freed by the time of the election are eligible to vote, even if they are on parole or probation. Only felons who are currently incarcerated cannot vote. An individual's voting rights are automatically restored once released from prison. Those who are incarcerated for misdemeanors or under house arrest can vote via absentee ballot, while those incarcerated for felonies and not being released before the election are not eligible.

1. Can Pennsylvania’s former offenders vote?
What if I have a felony conviction?
What if I’m incarcerated now?
Here are the facts:
 Under Pennsylvania law, felons who have been released
from prison, or who will be freed by the time of the
election, are eligible to vote. This is true even if they
are on parole or probation.
 Only felons who are incarcerated are not allowed to vote.
 An individual’s voting rights are automatically restored
once he or she is released from prison.
Who is eligible to register and vote? Who is not eligible to register
 Incarcerated individuals convicted of and vote?
misdemeanors (must vote with an  Individuals who are incarcerated on
absentee ballot)
felony charges and who won't be released
 Individuals who are under house arrest before the election
(must vote with an absentee ballot)  Individuals who have been convicted of
 Individuals who are on probation or violating the PA election laws within the
released on parole past four years
 Individuals being held while awaiting trial
(must vote with an absentee ballot)
 Individuals in a halfway house, however
the address of the halfway house may not
be used as their official address for voting
purposes
Please note that, while voting rights are restored to most former offenders, they still must be sure they are registered
to vote, especially if they are living in a different district than before their incarceration.
For more information regarding voting laws in Pennsylvania, go to www.votespa.com.
245 North Broad Street • Philadelphia, PA 19107
Phone: 215.564.6005 • Fax: 215.564.1830 • www.prisonsociety.org