(reverent music) - I'm Jay Martin, Jr., in the Crosscut KCTS 9 newsroom.

All former Washington prisoners are now able to vote.

A new law that took effect last year automatically restores voting rights to those with felony convictions from the moment they exit prison.

But of the more than 24,000 state residents with past felony convictions that are now eligible to vote, only 414 cast ballots in the midterms, according to the Office of the Secretary of State.

Less than one in 10 eligible voters with past felonies have registered so far.

Voting rights advocates attribute the low turnout to a myriad of barriers facing those reentering society after years of incarceration, along with the newness of the law and the still-pervasive idea that voting rights never return after felony convictions.

I'm Jay Martin, Jr. Find nonprofit Northwest news every day on crosscut.com.