In California, a person with a felony conviction can run for public office in most situations, but not all. Once you finish your sentence, including any parole or probation, your eligibility to seek state and local office comes back automatically for the great majority of felonies. The exception is a specific list of corruption-related felonies. Those disqualify you from state and local elective office unless the Governor (or the equivalent authority in another jurisdiction) grants you a pardon.
The Felonies That Actually Disqualify You
California Elections Code Section 20 bars anyone convicted of certain corruption-related felonies from running for or holding any state or local elective office. The list is narrow:
- Bribery (accepting, giving, or offering a bribe)
- Embezzlement of public money
- Extortion or theft of public money
- Perjury
- Conspiracy to commit any of the offenses above
The bar lasts until you receive a pardon. Section 20(b) defines a “conviction of a felony” for disqualification purposes as one “for which the person has not received a pardon,” so a pardon removes the barrier entirely.1California Legislative Information. California Code Elections Code 20 – General Provisions
If your felony isn’t on that list, Section 20 doesn’t stand between you and the ballot.
Getting Eligibility Back After a Non-Disqualifying Felony
For felonies outside the Section 20 list, the path is simple. Finish your sentence. That means any prison or jail time, plus parole and probation. When every component of the sentence is complete, your right to hold public office is restored. No petition, no court order, no separate application.
Voting works on a different timeline in California and isn’t the same question as office-holding. But if you’re focused on running, the rule for the run-of-the-mine felony is that once the sentence is fully served, you’re eligible.
What It Takes to Run After a Disqualifying Felony
A pardon is the only mechanism that restores eligibility for someone convicted of one of the Section 20 offenses.1California Legislative Information. California Code Elections Code 20 – General Provisions
In California, the Governor grants pardons. If you have more than one felony conviction, the Governor needs approval from the California Supreme Court before issuing one. A pardon is discretionary. It is not fast, and it is not guaranteed.
The usual pathway runs through a Certificate of Rehabilitation. That certificate is a court order recognizing rehabilitation, and it automatically operates as a pardon application forwarded to the Governor’s office.2California Courts. Certificate of Rehabilitation The certificate itself doesn’t override Section 20. Its value here is that it starts the pardon process, and the pardon is what actually lifts the disqualification.
You have to wait at least seven years after release from jail, prison, probation, or parole (whichever ends last) before you can apply for the certificate.2California Courts. Certificate of Rehabilitation
Why Expungement Doesn’t Solve the Problem
People often assume that expungement under Penal Code Section 1203.4 clears the way to run. It doesn’t, at least not for disqualifying felonies.
An expungement lets you withdraw your plea and have the case dismissed, which helps with employment and licensing. But the statute imposes two restrictions that matter here. You must still disclose the conviction when applying for public office or state licensing. And the dismissal “does not permit a person prohibited from holding public office as a result of that conviction to hold public office.”3California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 1203.4
So if your conviction is one of the Section 20 offenses, expungement changes nothing about your eligibility. Only a pardon does. For non-disqualifying felonies, expungement is essentially beside the point on this question, because completing your sentence already restores your right to run.
Out-of-State and Federal Convictions
Section 20 doesn’t only reach California convictions. It applies to convictions under the laws of any other state, the federal government, or a foreign country, so long as the offense would qualify as a disqualifying felony had it been committed in California. The pardon exception carries over too: a pardon from the convicting jurisdiction’s authority (another state’s governor, the President, or the foreign equivalent) lifts the disqualification.1California Legislative Information. California Code Elections Code 20 – General Provisions
Law Enforcement Offices Are Different
If the office you want is a law enforcement position, the analysis changes entirely. Government Code Section 1029 disqualifies anyone convicted of any felony from serving as a peace officer. Not just corruption offenses. Any felony.4California Legislative Information. California Code Government Code 1029
For felony convictions entered after January 1, 2004, the restriction is essentially permanent. Eligibility can’t be regained through expungement, through reduction to a misdemeanor, or through any other court order that sets aside or vacates the conviction, unless the court finds the person factually innocent. As of 2022, the type of sentence imposed doesn’t matter either.4California Legislative Information. California Code Government Code 1029
The practical consequence is that elected law enforcement positions, sheriff being the obvious example, are effectively off the table for anyone with a felony record in almost all cases.
Federal Office Runs on Different Rules
Everything above concerns California state and local office. Federal offices, U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and the Presidency, are governed by the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution sets qualifications based on age, citizenship, and residency. It doesn’t include any general prohibition on people with felony convictions running for or holding federal office.
There is one narrow exception. Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment bars anyone from holding federal or state office who previously took an oath to support the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.” Congress can lift that disability by a two-thirds vote in each chamber.5Constitution Annotated. 14th Amendment Section 3 – Disqualification From Holding Office Outside of that specific provision, no felony conviction, whatever its nature, disqualifies a person from running for President or Congress under federal law.