Nevada is one of 12 states that restrict voting rights even after a person has served his or her prison sentence and is no longer on probation or parole. Based on the most recent estimates Nevada’s law disenfranchises over 89,000 people: 4% of the entire state-wide voting-age population but 11.76% of the adult black voting-age population. More than half of disenfranchised African Americans are post-sentence, meaning they can petition a court to have their rights restored. Nevada also has a relatively complicated system for restoration of voting rights for people with criminal records that depends in part on the type of record – see the description at the end of this blog. There is a great new project and resource for determining if someone is eligible to have their franchise rights restored at Restore Your Vote, a project of the Campaign Legal Center. On the site you can download a Toolkit that walks people through the eligibility issues and the rights restoration process.
Here is the actual description of eligibility rules from the website of the Clark County Registrar:
Conditions
IF you were convicted in Nevada on or after July 1, 2003 of
| • | A category A or B felony that resulted in substantial bodily harm to the victim, or |
| • | Two or more felonies, unless the convictions arose out of the same act. |
You may petition the court of competent jurisdiction for an order granting the restoration of your civil rights.
IF you were convicted in Nevada of a felony other than a category A or B felony as described above, and have been:
| • | Honorably discharged from probation, or |
| • | Honorably discharged from parole, or |
| • | Released from prison. |
You have been restored the following civil rights:
| • | The right to vote; and |
| • | The right to serve as a juror in a civil action. |
| • | Four years after the date of honorable discharge from parole or probation, pardon, or release from prison, the right to hold office. |
| • | Six years after the date of honorable discharge from parole or probation, pardon, or release from prison, the right to serve as a juror in a criminal action. |
IF you received an unconditional pardon
You are restored all civil rights and are relieved of all disabilities incurred upon conviction.
IF you were convicted of a felony in a federal court or convicted in another state
Call the Clark County Election Department at (702) 455-0075 or (702) 455-8683 for direction.
IF you were federally convicted in the US District Court of Nevada
AND the Election Department advises you must provide:
| • | An Order Terminating Probation or |
| • | A signed letter from the District Court where you were supervised |
AND you do not have that documentation
Call the main telephone of the U.S. District Probation and Parole Department at (702) 527-7300.