Many down-ballot races can have the biggest impact on criminal legal system policy and ending mass incarceration.
Prison Policy Initiative updates for September 11, 2024 Exposing how mass incarceration harms communities and our national welfare
Ending mass incarceration is on the ballot [[link removed]] A guide to how 19 offices you may be asked to vote on can help end mass incarceration in America. [[link removed]]
by Mike Wessler
Election Day is right around the corner. While presidential campaigns get most of the attention from the news media, many lesser-known down-ballot races can have a much more dramatic impact on criminal legal system reform in America.
For voters interested in ending mass incarceration, we’ve put together a new guide on how the 19 most common offices for which they will cast their ballots can help end mass incarceration [[link removed]]. We explore how those offices can make decisions to reduce the number of people behind bars, improve conditions in prisons and jails, and help turn the page on America’s failed experiment with mass incarceration.
In the guide, we cover:
9 local offices [[link removed]], including sheriffs, mayors, school board members, and county clerks 8 state offices [[link removed]], including governors, state legislators, state auditors, and judges 2 federal offices [[link removed]]: the President and members of Congress.
We also examine some less-common offices that can also help improve the criminal legal system in America. For example, we explain how Governor's Councilors in Massachusetts can make the criminal legal system more fair and how High Baliffs in Vermont can provide oversight of law enforcement.
Readers should use this guide to evaluate their candidates for office, press them to take clear stands on how they’ll use their position to improve the criminal legal system if elected, and hold them accountable for those commitments once they take office.
Making your voice heard
No single elected official built America’s broken system of mass incarceration. And no one officeholder can end it singlehandedly. Accomplishing that will require a wide focus on elected offices up and down the ballot.
As you prepare to head to the polls, we hope this guide helps you better understand how the offices you’ll be asked to vote for can use their power to reduce the number of people behind bars and improve conditions for those who remain incarcerated. After the election, we hope you’ll use it to hold those elected officials accountable, too.
With Election Day approaching, visit Vote.org [[link removed]] to register to vote (or check your registration status) and make your plan to make your voice heard at the ballot box.
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To access our full guide, which explains how 19 of the most common offices people will be asked to vote on can help end mass incarceration, see the the full guide on our website [[link removed]].
Please support our work [[link removed]]
Unlike political candidates, we don't fill your inbox with requests for money. Instead, we provide in-depth, high-quality research and data about the criminal legal system. This work is made possible by private donations from people like you. Can you help us keep going? We can accept tax-deductible gifts online [[link removed]] or via paper checks sent to PO Box 127 Northampton MA 01061. Thank you!
Other news: Eligible but Excluded: A guide to removing barriers to jail voting [[link removed]]
While people in state or federal prison generally cannot vote, most people in local jails can, although numerous barriers prevent them from doing so.
In this 2020 report with the Rainbow Push Coalition [[link removed]], we examined the barriers that voters detained in jails face when attempting to vote.a
Jail-based polling locations: A way to fight voter disenfranchisement [[link removed]]
In recent years, advocates have successfully pressured a small but growing list of governments to address barriers people in jail face when attempting to vote.
In this 2022 briefing [[link removed]], we look at the evidence from seven places that established jail-based polling locations shows that it is not only feasible but effective.
Please support our work [[link removed]]
Our work is made possible by private donations. Can you help us keep going? We can accept tax-deductible gifts online [[link removed]] or via paper checks sent to PO Box 127 Northampton MA 01061. Thank you!
Our other newsletters Ending prison gerrymandering ( archives [[link removed]]) Criminal justice research library ( archives [[link removed]])
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