D.C. Residents Are Voting from Prison This Week

After Colorado passed a state law requiring all jails to create in-person polling places for incarcerated voters, the number of ballots cast from county jails rose from 231 in 2022 to more than 2,300 in 2024.

Michigan’s Genessee County jail employs two formerly incarcerated organizers who help people detained there register to vote, cast their ballots, and access resources about pivotal election measures. They also coordinate forums with political candidates for offices ranging from the Michigan Supreme Court to the Flint City Council.

In San Diego County, Pillars of the Community trained people incarcerated in local jails to become “inside organizers” who can help others incarcerated there register to vote and fill out their ballots. In all, seven inside organizers helped roughly 230 people register to vote ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

To improve voter access for people in jail, the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office hired an election worker to comb through county records and identify incarcerated people who are registered to vote. The staffer then went from pod to pod in the jail to deliver absentee ballot request forms and give others an opportunity to register. In all, 70 people were able to request their absentee ballots.

In Maine, one of only two states where people in prison retain their right to vote, the Maine State Prison branch of the NAACP engages incarcerated voters through flyers, posters, guest speakers, and group discussions about political issues. Over the past two decades, the organization has helped more than 1,000 people register to vote in Maine prisons.

Washington lawmakers allocated $2.5 million in grant funding to help jails improve voting access for people incarcerated there, which resulted in a big spike in ballots cast in one facility that participated. But only five counties applied for the grant program, and jail officials interested in participating have faced opposition from political representatives in some areas.

Many people who are currently incarcerated still retain the right to vote, and as the 2020 election approaches advocates in Illinois are making sure that those who are in Chicago’s Cook County Jail have access to ballots. Under a newly implemented law, Cook County Jail was designated as a polling place, which increased access for pretrial detainees and those serving certain misdemeanor convictions, and ultimately resulted in a higher voter turnout for the March primaries.

Maine is one of few states where people who are incarcerated maintain the right to vote. However, with no formal state policy on prisoners' voting rights or official guidance for correctional facilities on how to ensure adequate access, in practice many people incarcerated in Maine facilities encounter barriers to voting, from mail delays to inconsistent information from jail officials.

Indigenous communities across Arizona organized grassroots efforts to register Native voters and increase voter turnout in 2020. Members of indigenous communities were able to move on-the-ground efforts forward in a way that outside organizations could not. While just 6% of the state’s voting population identifies as Native American, President Biden won by just 10,000 votes, making the larger turnout across Native nations more relevant. Efforts involved going door-to-door and setting up information booths in central areas and voters responded to canvassers taking the time to talk with people.

Libya’s Electoral Outreach Ambassadors program aims to increase women’s trust in the political process and register new voters. The female ambassadors are experienced in civil society participation but are not affiliated with any political or religious group, which is key to building trust given the country’s recent civil war. Ambassadors are trained in many tactics and left to tailor their own strategy so that it is best suited for their own district. Outreach efforts include a combination of house visits, workshops in private and public institutions, and talks with women in public spaces.