Can a Felon Vote in Arizona? (Updated)

Arizona, the Grand Canyon State, was formed on February 14, 1912. Phoenix is the state’s capital, with a population of 1,563,025. It is home to the Navajo Nation, a famous Native American tribe.

Arizona’s current prison population is 42,033, around 0.6% of its total population. There are more male occupants inside the state’s prisons. In 2016, the male prisoners are around 38,193 and female prisoners are 3,840.

Imprisonment is a penalty for a person convicted of a crime. If a prisoner completes his or her sentence, the crime has been paid for. He must then be given a chance again to be part of the society.

Can Felons Vote in Arizona?

According to Arizona state laws, citizens are guaranteed of their right to vote. A person may only be prohibited to vote if he or she is currently imprisoned.

Civil rights, including voting rights, is immediately restored if the person is convicted due to an offense for the first time. If he is convicted again, a different process follows.

A person who served sentence for the first time can automatically restore his or her civil rights. However, a probation period is necessary to restore voting rights if a felon is convicted again.

There are no laws in Arizona that disqualify a person from his or her voting rights. However, it is a trend that prisoners permanently lose voting rights for being unable to pay extremely high court fines.

How Felons can Restore Voting Rights in Arizona?

A first-time convicted felon, upon completion of sentence, can automatically restore voting rights. A felon who is convicted again must satisfy the following conditions before he can be granted of his voting rights again.

A person must completely serve his or her sentence and must have paid all court fines. This also applies to first-time offenders.
A person must have completed probation of not less than two years. This applies only to subsequent offenders.

A person may then apply for voting rights restoration by following the steps below.

Secure a certificate of absolute discharge from the Department of Corrections. Absolute discharge means he is no longer serving sentence, probation, or parole.
Submit a copy of the certificate to a court judge for evaluation and approval.