KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times

Kemba Smith, an ex-felon and nationally recognized felon rights restoration activist, gets a hug from Ann Fisher (left), executive director of Virginia Cares, after Smith's keynote speech Sunday in Roanoke's Elmwood Park.

Seba Jimerson of Roanoke just got out of prison for attempted robbery.

He's bothered that, when he gets a job and paycheck, he will be taxed without any say over which politicians will decide how his money is spent. As a felon, he can't vote.

"If you can take my tax dollars when I work, why can't you take my voice when I vote?" asked Jimerson, who's been free six weeks after 16 years behind bars.

Stories such as his punctuate a rally held Sunday in Roanoke's Elmwood Park to challenge Virginia's policy of disenfranchisement. The more than 100-year-old policy strips the right to vote, sit on a jury, hold public office or be a notary public from everyone convicted of a felony. Misdemeanors carry no such loss of rights.

Total Action Against Poverty of Roanoke, acting with several human rights and welfare organizations as co-sponsors, organized Sunday's rally -- called Voices for the Vote -- to change, relax or eliminate the restrictions that face felons exiting prison. Many states restore lost rights automatically once a felon completes his or her sentence and related requirements such as restitution and probation. In Virginia, one of few with significant restrictions, it takes approval of a written application sent to the governor.

Before applying, there is a waiting period of five years for a violent felony or drug crime and three years for a nonviolent offense, as well as a background check and other requirements. At least 300,000 felons are disenfranchised in Virginia, even though many have completed their sentences.

Several ex-offenders said that even though restoration does not expunge a criminal record, felons of restored status can carry themselves with more dignity and have a better shot at getting a job, too, they said.

An employer shown a restoration certificate from the governor's office is less apt to automatically reject a convicted felon job candidate, according to Correlli Rasheed, program manager of Virginia Cares, an ex-offender re-entry program run by TAP in Roanoke.

The employer sees the certificate and thinks, "If the governor restores your rights, who am I to say you don't deserve a job?" he said.

Conversely, "if you can't vote in this country, it automatically makes you a second-class citizen," Del. Onzlee Ware, D-Roanoke, told about 100 people at the rally.

In fact, there is evidence that when disenfranchisement laws were made a part of the state's constitution in 1902, one goal was to disadvantage a particular group -- blacks, according to a study by the Advancement Project, a policy and legal action group committed to racial justice.

Today, about half of the convicted felons barred from voting in Virginia are black, even though blacks constitute less than 20 percent of the state's voting-age population, according to the Advancement Project.

Ware has been pushing for a law that would automatically restore the rights of nonviolent offenders without the waiting period or application process. Although the proposed measure fell short in 2009, Ware intends to try again in 2010, he said.

Such proposals resonate deeply with Robin Webb, 49, of Roanoke.

"I'm a convicted felon, and I want my rights back," said Webb, who did time for selling cocaine. "I just got into something I had no business getting into."

Webb said that because of her status as an ex-offender she has faced difficulty finding stable employment for much of the 14 years since her release. She said she believes an employer would look favorably on the restoration of her rights.

Added Julie Klemm of Roanoke, who was convicted of being an accessory after the fact to child molestation: "People who have done their time should be able to vote and live like a citizen instead of having a banner across your chest: 'I'm a con.' "