Voting Rights in Prisons Pt. 2

The first problem with voting in prison is the limited access to information about the voting process. Flyers for voting are a common source of information in prisons, but they often have inaccuracies, much like voting documents, which can also contain errors. 

Inmates who are eligible to vote also need guidance from staff. As we learned last week, there are so many rules that determine whether or not someone who is incarcerated has voting rights. There is not much information accessible in prisons explaining who can vote. Without being informed otherwise, many in prison assume they are not able to vote when they can. 

Registering to vote in prison is also a struggle without access to the internet or proper forms and identification. No access to the internet also makes it harder to learn about the public officials they are voting for. 

Addressing de facto disenfranchisement demands making the voting registration process and access of information easier for incarcerated people. Though it sounds like much of the responsibility lies in public officials and prison staff, there are also things we can do. 

Chicago Votes is a volunteer-run organization that has greatly increased the voter turnout of incarcerated people in their community. Since 2017 they have set up voter registration drives in Cook County Jail and have gotten about 5,000 new people to register to vote. 

By cooperating with their state government, they were able Cook County Jail a polling location for the 2020 elections. 

The results of Chicago Vote’s efforts are clear—-in the 2020 primaries, about 33% of the people of Cook County Jail voted, and that number went up to 40% of the prison in the general election. If you remember the percentages we looked at last week, these are incredible turnout numbers for a prison. (All this information is from Chicago Vote’s website). 

It’s inspiring to hear that volunteers can make a difference and that part of learning about issues is learning how to act. See you next week!