CONVICTS CAN REGAIN RIGHT TO VOTE ONCE SENTENCES ARE COMPLETED

Missourians who have completed terms for criminal convictions but want to be involved in the political process can cast their vote during general elections in the fall.

Voter registration continues through Oct. 11 for the Nov. 7 presidential election.

Disenfranchisement, or the loss of voting rights, takes place only in specific instances.

For example, Missouri residents who are in prison or on probation or parole are not eligible to vote during those periods. People convicted of violating a law involving voting or elections surrenders their right to vote forever, unless they receive a pardon from the governor.

However, anyone who has completed terms for probation and parole and have been discharged by the state may have their voting rights reinstated.

Some 48,800 Missourians are disenfranchised due to prison, probation and parole sentences.

Voter rights regarding criminal violations vary from state to state. In Illinois, for example, about 38,900 people lost their right to vote because they were jailed for a felony conviction. Illinois law makes no mention regarding probation and parole or misdemeanor convictions.

Homeless people, whether they live on the streets or in shelters, also may register to vote as long as they have a mailing address.

"As long as they keep their registration active they can vote," said Mississippi County Clerk Junior DeLay. "Failure to vote in two consecutive general elections could cause them to be purged from registration lists, which means they would have to register again."

Missouri Deputy Secretary of State Betsy Milner said voter rights are monitored at the local level in most instances. County clerks maintain registration lists and receive monthly reports from circuit courts regarding misdemeanor and felony convictions. The secretary of state's office monitors federal convictions and send quarterly reports to Missouri counties.

The state does not monitor the number of ex-convicts who register to vote after completing conviction sentences.

"Reinstating voter rights would have to be done" by prisoners upon their release, said Tim Knieste, spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Corrections. "Whoever takes that registration would then have to make sure that person is qualified to vote."

DeLay said people who have been convicted of a crime usually don't participate in elections. In more than 10 years as county clerk, DeLay remembers only one instance of a person trying to reinstate his voting rights. The man had received a pardon from the governor for a felony conviction and was attempting to vote in a sewer bond election.

"We wouldn't let him because at that time we didn't cross-reference our list with the governor's office," said DeLay. "He got a little irate and even made a threat, so we got on the horn and found out he had been pardoned. He got to vote in that election."

To register to vote, you must:

* Be a citizen of the United States.

* Be a resident of Missouri.

* Be at least 17 and a half years of age (you must be 18 to vote).

* Not be on probation or parole after conviction of a felony.

* Not be convicted of a felony or misdemeanor connected with the right of suffrage.

* Not be declared incompetent by any court of law.

* Not be confined under a sentence of imprisonment.