Criminal Records

The 2009 Washington Legislature passed a new law that restores the right to vote automatically to people with felony convictions when they have completed their time in prison and have served any required community custody supervised by the State Department of Corrections (DOC).

Many people with a criminal record want to “expunge” or “clear” their criminal histories. While Washington law does not permit the destruction of adult, conviction records, some people may be eligible to “vacate” a conviction record, which allows them to legally claim that they were never convicted.