Ending mass incarceration is on the ballot

A guide to how 19 offices you may be asked to vote on can help end mass incarceration in America.

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. 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, including sheriffs, mayors, school board members, and county clerks
• 8 state offices, including governors, state legislators, state auditors, and judges
• 2 federal offices: 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 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.