VOICE

Can we increase civic engagement for people in jail?

More than 700,000 Americans are currently held in custody in local jails. While a common misconception is that these individuals are ineligible to vote, the vast majority are legally permitted to cast a ballot in local, state, and federal elections. Yet doing so is often difficult in practice, due to incarcerated people’s limited mobility and access to informational resources.

Informing people in custody about their legal right to register and vote holds the potential to increase their engagement with the electoral system and trust in government. At the same time, communicating with public audiences, including the media, about the nuances of this right is critical to preventing false accusations of voter fraud and misconduct.

In partnership with the AlamedaCounty Public Defender’s Office (ACPDO), we are testing innovative ways to increase voter registration among people in jail, documenting and disseminating current best practices around in-person voter registration, as well as identifying effective registration tactics when in-person visits are not permitted (e.g., during Covid outbreaks). The partnership will support ACPDO as they meet with incarcerated individuals in Santa Rita Jail to provide tailored information about voter registration.

Through this partnership we hope to learn more about the ongoing work of ACPDO and other community leaders, identify resource gaps that researchers could help fill, and compile and disseminate practices that have been identified as most effective for voter registration rates in jails. Not only is this information critical to improving the efficacy and efficiency of ACPDO’s work, but it holds the possibility of inspiring and supporting similar programs across the United States.

This project was made possible with funding from the Scholars Strategy Network.