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It’s here! Our very first policy paper!
Over the years we have learned so much as we have worked to get IDs and turn out votes across the country. We have thousands of stories, datapoints, and suggestions and we have long wanted to share these lessons. Today, finally, we are releasing the first of hopefully many reports about our work. And this one is a big one.
Most people don’t know that at least half a million people in America are incarcerated but have the right to vote. Many of them have been detained pretrial, meaning they haven’t been convicted of anything, and the rest have mostly been convicted of misdemeanors which do not restrict them from voting. And yet, in 2020, 13,000 incarcerated Wisconsinites were eligible to vote, and only 50 did. This story plays out all across the country in every election.
Incarcerated citizens must have their voices heard. Every aspect of their lives is impacted by the decisions of elected officials, and they even count as part of the census tract for the jurisdictions in which they are detained! After spending years helping currently and formerly incarcerated people obtain IDs, Spread The Vote knew there were hundreds of thousands of people who needed help to cast a ballot, so we started Vote By Mail in Jail.
Vote By Mail in Jail is the nation’s only incarcerated voter turnout program and over the last four years we have built it into a powerhouse operation with a 79.4% turnout rate. How do we achieve those numbers? Read the paper to find out! And then please share it, discuss it, and support our work. Next year, we are going to make this program bigger than ever. Half a million incarcerated citizens have the right to vote and we are on a mission to make sure every one of them casts a ballot.
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I hope this report inspires you to advocate for the rights of incarcerated voters, and to help us make sure that more jailed voters cast a ballot next year than ever before.
That’s not all! To celebrate the release of our paper, and because it’s Giving Tuesday, every donation over $20 made today gets a Spread The Vote bumper sticker and every donation over $50 gets a free hat!
Thank you so much for your support, none of this would be possible without you.
Kat
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