GOTV: Helping Voters Cast a Ballot from Jail
Every year, hundreds of thousands of eligible, incarcerated voters face unique barriers to exercising their constitutionally guaranteed right to vote.
There are several reasons why voters may be eligible to vote from jail, mainly: an individual is held pretrial, meaning they have not been convicted of any crime, or an individual was convicted of a misdemeanor offense in a state, like Massachusetts, where that has no bearing on eligibility status. You can check your eligibility status here.
Pastor Franklin Hobbs, Dr. DeAnza Cook, elly kalfus getting out the vote in Boston jails and house of corrections in fall 2024. We can't bring cameras inside, so this is the closest we can bring to you – from the Lobby Ballot Box.
For the past two decades, Pastor Franklin Hobbs of Healing Our Land, Inc has led jail voting in Suffolk County, organizing volunteers to go into both Nashua Street Jail and the Suffolk County House of Corrections.
In 2022, leading up to Election Day, Hobbs and a team of volunteers entered the lockup on a weekly basis from July to November, to help eligible incarcerated voters access their right to the ballot. With permission from the sheriff, volunteers walked from unit to unit explaining who is eligible to vote, supplying applications for absentee ballots, and forms to register to vote following release. Pastor Hobbs and team then hand delivered applications to the Boston Elections Clerk. The team estimates that they interacted with upwards of 100 prospective voters.
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During the 2024 elections, the Jail-Based Voting & Civic Education Team was hard at work this election season registering folks to vote inside of Nashua Street Jail and the Suffolk County House of Correction. The team also hosted reflection circles, a series of interactive opportunities for incarcerated residents that focused on civic literacy, democratic engagement, restorative justice, and transformative justice. Critical issues remain — Massachusetts sheriffs and local officials must fully implement a top-down, systemic approach to protecting the voting rights of all eligible voters, as required by the VOTES Act.
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The Civic Education Team also creates a newsletter created by and for incarcerated individuals. You can find the first edition of the newsletter here.