Can you vote with a felony in Connecticut?
The short answer
After prison.
In Connecticut, people lose the right to vote only while in prison for a felony. It comes back on release, including on parole or probation.
The exception: People convicted of a felony violation of Connecticut's election laws cannot register to vote again until they are discharged from parole and probation for that felony.1
In Connecticut, people lose the right to vote only while confined in a prison or other correctional facility for a felony conviction. The right returns on release, including for people on parole or probation and people living in a community residence, and people must register to vote again. People convicted of a felony violation of the state's election laws must wait until they are discharged from parole and probation.1,4,5
Before you register
Your state or county election office can confirm your own status, for free. Voting while ineligible can carry criminal penalties, so if anything about your case is unclear, ask them first. The general election is November 3, 2026; registration deadlines are on vote.gov.
How the right comes back
Automatically
Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 9-46a(b), on release from confinement the person has the right to become an elector, and the Commissioner of Correction must give them a document certifying the release. Registrars remove people from the voter list after a felony commitment (§ 9-45(a)), and the Secretary of the State's guide says that to restore the right, the person registers again: with a voter registration form for the registrars of voters in their town (in person or by mail), online at MyVote.CT.gov/register with a Connecticut driver's license or non-driver ID, at the DMV, or with a form from a library or other registration agency. People confined in a community residence keep or regain the right. A person returned to confinement from parole loses the right again until released (§ 9-46(b)). On parole and probation the right is restored for everyone except people convicted of a felony violation of the election laws (see exception).1,4
When the right doesn't come back on its own
- felony violations of Connecticut's election laws (Title 9 of the General Statutes)
This loss is not permanent. For a felony violation of Title 9, the restoration on release in § 9-46a(b)(1) does not apply 'until such person has been discharged from any parole or probation for such felony.'1
Fines, fees and restitution
Not required
Sections 9-46 and 9-46a set no payment condition. According to the statute's history note, June Special Session Public Act 21-2 deleted a provision about payment of fines from § 9-46a(a), effective July 1, 2021.1
Registering again
Yes
Once the right is back, Connecticut requires a new voter registration before voting.4
Misdemeanors and jail
Loss of voting rights requires a felony conviction and committal to confinement (§ 9-46(a)); a misdemeanor conviction does not take away the vote under these sections.1
The statute ties loss of the vote to a felony conviction and committal to confinement (§ 9-46(a)), so it does not take the vote from people held before trial. People held at a Department of Correction facility whose voting rights have not been denied are treated as absent from their town for voting purposes (§ 9-14a), and since January 1, 2026 the Secretary of the State must furnish an absentee ballot application form for use inside Department of Correction facilities (§ 9-139a(c)).1,2,3
Convictions from another state or federal court
A felony conviction with confinement in a federal correctional facility, or in another state's or county's correctional facility (not a community residence), also removes the right (§ 9-46(a)); it is restored once the person is released from confinement (§ 9-46a(a)).1
What's changed
January 1, 2026: Public Act 25-168 added § 9-139a(c), effective January 1, 2026, which requires the Secretary of the State to prescribe and furnish to the Department of Correction an absentee ballot application form for incarcerated applicants in Department of Correction facilities; it also amended § 9-140 to require the Commissioner of Correction to ensure delivery of absentee ballots to such an applicant who is moved to another facility, and updated the wording of § 9-14a on voters in state custody. It did not change who is eligible. The last change to eligibility was June Special Session Public Act 21-2, effective July 1, 2021, which made the right return on release from confinement instead of on discharge from parole, kept the right for people in community residences, deleted a provision about payment of fines, and added a rule that a person returned to confinement from parole loses the right again.3
The law
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This page explains Connecticut's general rules from its law and election office. It isn't legal advice, and a case can turn on the details of a sentence. The election office can confirm your status.
Spot something out of date? Tell us at contact@secondchanceindex.com.
Cite this page
Second Chance Index, "Can you vote with a felony in Connecticut?" https://secondchanceindex.com/voting-rights/connecticut, checked October 22, 2026.
Sources
Each source was opened and checked on October 22, 2026.
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 9-45
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 9-14a (2026 Supp.)
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 9-139a(c) (2026 Supp.)
- Released from Incarceration? How to Restore Your Right to Vote (Rev. 2023)Connecticut Secretary of the State
- Voting EligibilityConnecticut Secretary of the State
- Oxford, Connecticut, State Election November 3, 2026, Official Sample BallotConnecticut Secretary of the State