Dear John,
Every year, hundreds of thousands of eligible incarcerated voters are unable to cast their ballot due to misinformation, institutional bureaucracy and de-prioritization among government officials. A new advocacy brief from The Sentencing Project highlights strategies to improve ballot access for incarcerated people who are legally eligible to vote.
Voting in Jails: Advocacy Strategies to #UNLOCKtheVOTE, authored by Durrel Douglas, The Sentencing Project’s Jail-Based Voting Initiative Organizer, provides a number of case studies that can help advocates, jail officials and lawmakers increase ballot access for incarcerated voters.
Strategies listed for expanding voting access in jails include:
Turning jails into polling locations. Establishing a polling location will improve voter access and turnout far better than jail-based absentee voting initiatives. After the Cook County jail in Illinois was turned into a polling location, approximately 2,200 people were able to cast their ballot.
Encouraging Jails to Host Candidate Forums. In Genesee County, Michigan, over 20 city council candidates attended the “Meet the Candidates’’ town hall where residents at the jail and candidates discussed ways to improve public education and support reentry programs.
Supporting Individual Action. One person can make a difference. Longtime South Dakota activist, Cathy Brechtelsbauer, launched a solo organizing campaign to expand voting in Minnehaha County Jail in Sioux Falls. After a series of meetings with the warden, there were voter registration packets on the library carts of the jail moving from dorm to dorm and cell to cell.
The new report includes additional recommendations for citizens, jail officials and lawmakers, as well as case studies from across the country.
Click here to read the full report.
Help us spread the word by sharing this report on social media.
