Willie Black, Florida
Black, 47, spent almost seven years in prison on a charge of trafficking stolen property. He was released less than a year ago, and it will be several years before he can apply to restore his civil rights. Black said it is frustrating not to have the voice his vote would give him. Photo by Michael Ciaglo/News21
Josh Vander Kamp, Arizona
Vander Kamp, 27, lost his voting rights in 2006 because of convictions for a drug paraphernalia violation and possession of a burglary tool. He applied to regain his rights, but was denied last year. Now a husband and father of two children, he said family life made him a better person. Photo by Lizzie Chen/News21
Samuel L. Ervin, Tennessee
Ervin, 62, lost his voting rights in 1985 after a second degree murder conviction. After 20 years, he has regained his rights and now hopes to start an organization that would help at-risk youth. Photo by Michael Ciaglo/News21
Shannon Mogonye-Ray, Texas
Mogonye-Ray, 38, lost her right to vote when she was convicted of drug possession and substance abuse. She regained the right to vote and now works as a contractor with El Buen Samaritano, a church group that works with low-income Latino families in Austin. Photo by Lizzie Chen/News21
Manuel Castro, Arizona
Castro, 48, lost his voting rights in 1992 after he was convicted of burglary and drug charges. He's been sober for 20 years and works as a substance abuse counselor at Native American Connections, a Native American community development facility in Phoenix. Castro said he does not want to apply to get his U.S. voting rights restored. Photo by Lizzie Chen/News21
Vikki Hankins, Florida
Hankins, 43, spent 18 years in federal prison for selling crack cocaine. She was released in 2008 but cannot apply to have her civil rights restored until 2017. After her release, Hankins lived in a storage rental and ate cheap canned sausage. She now owns a publishing company, has an associate's degree in paralegal studies and heads an advocacy group for criminal justice. Photo by Michael Ciaglo/News21
Humberto Aguilar, Florida
Aguilar, 59, lost his voting rights about 15 years ago after he was convicted of tax evasion and conspiracy to possess with intent to sell cocaine. He has tried to get his voting rights back every year since his release and said he doesn't feel like a full citizen without those rights. Photo by Michael Ciaglo/News21
Eddie Walker, Florida
Walker, 61, served five years in prison for drug trafficking. As pastor of In God's Time Tabernacle of Jesus Christ Inc., in Orlando, Fla., he often preaches about civil rights restoration. He estimated that 60 percent of his parishioners – including himself – are felons who have not had their civil rights restored. Photo by Michael Ciaglo/News21
Katrina M. Frierson, Tennessee
Frierson, 48, lost her voting rights after she was convicted of 17 felonies over nine years. Her rights were restored in time for her to vote in the 2008 presidential election, which Frierson described as one of her greatest accomplishments. Photo by Michael Ciaglo/News21
Timothy McLaughlin, Florida
McLaughlin, 50, lost his voting rights about 25 years ago for trafficking cocaine. He traveled to Tallahassee, Fla., to plead for his civil rights and had them restored by the Florida Board of Executive Clemency on June 28. Photo by Michael Ciaglo/News21
Gary Austin, Arizona
Austin, 41, lost his voting rights in 1990 after he was convicted of burglary and armed robbery. After he was released from prison in 2001, Austin owned and operated halfway houses in Tucson. His rights are now restored. Photo by Lizzie Chen/News21
Angela Smith, Tennessee
Smith, 37, lost her voting rights in 1994 after a felony theft conviction. She has never voted because of a drug addiction that began when she was 12 years old. Smith is now six years sober and said she is ready to cast her first ballot. Photo by Michael Ciaglo/News21
Desmond Meade, Florida
Meade, 45, had his most recent conviction more than 10 years ago, when he was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He is now a law student at Florida International University and president of the Miami-based Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, which advocates for educating and restoring civil rights to people with felony convictions. Photo by Michael Ciaglo/News21
Joseph Clark, Arkansas
Clark, 52, lost his voting rights in 1988 after being convicted of second degree arson. Twenty-four years later, after going to Tallahassee, Fla., from his home in Arkansas to ask to have his rights restored, he was granted those rights. Photo by Michael Ciaglo/News21
Sherri Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson, 44, lost her voting rights in 1995 after a felony theft conviction. She now runs an organization that helps felons re-adjust to society by teaching life management skills, preparing them for education and employment, and helping to restore their rights. Photo by Michael Ciaglo/News21
Rosey Ruiz, Texas
Ruiz, 56, got her first felony conviction for drug possession in 1985 and was released from prison in 1995. She regained her voting rights in 1998. Rosey received a master's degree in social work from the University of Houston and started a nonprofit organization, Aspire to Win. The nonprofit's mission is to help people after prison, specifically those who've been disenfranchised. Photo by Lizzie Chen/News21
Anthony Davis, Florida
Davis, 46, spent almost 20 years in and out of county jails and state prisons for repeat offenses, including possession of cocaine, selling and delivery of cocaine, burglary and escape. He is now a minister at Soweth of Seed Outreach Ministry Inc., in Orlando, Fla. He preaches several times a week at churches and on the streets. Photo by Michael Ciaglo/News21
Matt Carey, Arizona
Carey, 42, lost his voting rights in 2006 after he was convicted of forgery. He has to wait another year to apply to have his voting rights restored because he is on parole. Before he was convicted, Carey owned an electrical company. Photo by Lizzie Chen/News21
Reynaldo Diaz, Florida
Diaz, 60, lost his voting rights after threatening someone with a weapon. He's been working about 20 years to regain those rights, and the Florida Board of Executive Clemency restored them June 28 in Tallahassee, Fla. Photo by Michael Ciaglo/News21
Allen Jenkins, Tennessee
Jenkins, 50, lost his voting rights in 1995 after a drug conviction. As a single parent who has struggled to find employment since his conviction, Jenkins said he hopes to expunge his record - which would also restore his right to vote. Photo by Michael Ciaglo/News21
