I don't know if it's the same in all states, but here, you have to earn your rights back. If he is unsure, he needs to talk to his parole people about it. I worked with a gy several years back, that was a former felon. He had to go seven years clean before he could vote, then I believe another five before he could legally own a gun. He was conicted of stealing guns, also when he was 18. When I met him he had just worked off his restitution, and was applying to get his voting righs back. He is now a supervisor at the warehouse we worked at, and is raising a family. People can change.