Can you vote with a felony in Alabama?

How the right comes back

Only by applying

Only a felony listed in Ala. Code § 17-3-30.1(c), or an equivalent federal or out-of-state crime, disqualifies a voter; an attempt, conspiracy or solicitation to commit a listed crime also counts (§ 17-3-30.1(d)), and § 17-3-30.1(f) says the listed felonies are the only felonies that can disqualify. County boards of registrars remove people convicted of a listed felony from the voter list (§ 17-4-3). A person with a listed conviction (other than an offense excluded from the CERV) may apply to the Board of Pardons and Paroles for a CERV on Form ABPP-4. Under Ala. Code § 15-22-36.1 and Ala. Admin. Code r. 640-X-7-.02, the CERV is granted (within 44 days, under the rule) to an applicant who: lost the right to vote because of a conviction in a state or federal court; has no felony charges pending in any state or federal court; has paid all fines, court costs, fees and victim restitution ordered by the sentencing court at the time of sentencing on the disqualifying convictions; and has been released on completion of the sentence, has been pardoned, or has completed probation or parole and been released from compliance. Applying for a CERV does not affect the right to apply to the Board for a pardon with restoration of voting rights (§ 15-22-36.1(h)). The CERV certifies eligibility to register, so the person then registers to vote.^1,2,4,5,6

When the right doesn't come back on its own

• impeachment
• murder
• rape in any degree
• sodomy in any degree
• sexual abuse in any degree
• incest
• sexual torture
• enticing a child to enter a vehicle for immoral purposes
• soliciting a child by computer
• production of obscene matter involving a minor
• production of obscene matter
• parents or guardians permitting children to engage in obscene matter
• possession of obscene matter
• possession with intent to distribute child pornography
• treason

People convicted of these offenses cannot receive a CERV (Ala. Code § 15-22-36.1(g); Ala. Admin. Code r. 640-X-7-.02). The CERV law does not affect the right to apply to the Board of Pardons and Paroles for a pardon with restoration of voting rights (§ 15-22-36.1(h)). The Board may grant pardons in all cases except treason, impeachment and death sentences that have not been commuted, and a pardon relieves civil and political disabilities only if the pardon says so (§ 15-22-36(a), (c)).^2,3,5

Fines, fees and restitution

Must be paid first

To receive a CERV, a person must have paid all fines, court costs, fees and victim restitution ordered by the sentencing court at the time of sentencing on the disqualifying cases (Ala. Code § 15-22-36.1(a)(3); the rule, as amended in 2026, says 'disqualifying convictions').^2,5

Registering again

Yes

Once the right is back, Alabama requires a new voter registration before voting.⁴

Misdemeanors and jail

Misdemeanors do not affect voting. Ala. Code § 17-3-30.1 states that under Section 177 of the Alabama Constitution of 2022 a person loses the right to vote for a crime only if it is a felony involving moral turpitude, and that the listed felonies are the only felonies that can disqualify a voter.¹

The law ties loss of the vote to a conviction for a listed felony. The official pages opened do not separately address people held in jail before trial.¹

Convictions from another state or federal court

A conviction under federal law or another state's law disqualifies a voter only if the crime would be one of the listed offenses had it been committed in Alabama (Ala. Code § 17-3-30.1(c)(56)). The CERV is available to people who lost the vote through a conviction in a state or federal court.^1,2

What's changed

September 14, 2026: The Board of Pardons and Paroles amended the CERV rule, Ala. Admin. Code r. 640-X-7-.02 (adopted July 15, 2026; published July 31, 2026; effective September 14, 2026; operative October 1, 2026). Its notice describes the change as clarifying the rule's language on disqualifying convictions; the payment condition now refers to amounts ordered at sentencing on 'disqualifying convictions' instead of 'disqualifying cases'. Before that, the list itself was expanded: the Code's history note lists Act 2024-341 as the latest amendment to § 17-3-30.1, and the enrolled 2024 House Bill 100, which amends that section and took effect October 1, 2024, added aggravated stalking, domestic violence in the first and second degree and by strangulation or suffocation, elder abuse, compelling streetgang membership and felonies against election officials to the list, and made attempts, conspiracies and solicitations to commit listed crimes disqualifying.⁵

The law

• Ala. Code § 17-3-30.1 (Felony Voter Disqualification Act)
• Ala. Code § 15-22-36.1 (Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote)
• Ala. Code § 15-22-36(a), (c) (pardons; restoration of civil and political rights)
• Ala. Code § 17-4-3 (removal of disqualified electors)
• Ala. Admin. Code r. 640-X-7-.02 (Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote)

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