Can you vote if you’re in jail? Here’s what NC allows

There are hundreds of thousands of people in local jails across America, and most of them are eligible to vote. Whether or not they can actually cast a ballot is another story — and here in North Carolina, it’s one sheriffs have the power to control.

Due to the absence of polling sites at jails, voters behind bars must have access to voter registration forms, absentee ballot request forms, black ink pens, stamps, and envelopes in order to receive a ballot. Most don’t have access to those materials, and jails don’t provide them. This means that eligible voters in jails are largely unable to exercise their rights and have their voices heard.

You Can Vote, the organization I lead, is facilitating voter registration and absentee ballot requests across the state because we believe anyone who is eligible to vote should have the opportunity to do so. Ultimately though, our work depends on sheriffs — elected officials — who are the sole deciders on whether we can have access to jails in their jurisdictions.

There is a widespread misconception among the public, detention officers, justice-involved people, and even some election officials that people in jails have lost their right to vote. North Carolina recently expanded voter eligibility to allow justice-involved individuals the right to vote as long as they are not currently serving time for a felony conviction.

While this opened the door for more people to take part in choosing the officials that make decisions affecting them and their community, few are able to do so in practice.

Eligible voters in jail may not be aware of these changes, and the mailing process of jails creates another barrier. It’s nearly impossible for them to vote without organizations like ours intervening. While we are working to address the discrepancy between this new law and its implementation, the greatest barrier we face is simply getting in the door.

In our experience, most sheriffs assume the process of registering people to vote and filling out absentee ballot request forms will require a lot of time and effort for their staff, and they are unwilling to take that on. You Can Vote works to streamline that process, providing all the necessary materials. We even provide voter and candidate guides, so people can make informed decisions. In most instances, jail staff assigns us a room and allows incarcerated people the opportunity to meet with us — that’s it.

Recently, the New Hanover County Sheriff was so enthused about how easy the process was, he recommended us to the sheriff in Orange County, who reported that jail staff barely noticed we were there. Michael Holton, the Programs Manager at the Buncombe County Detention Center, told us he really enjoyed the process of registering folks in his facility to vote.

In addition to cooperation from sheriffs, we also need help from voters to push progress forward.

Since sheriffs across the state are up for election this year, voters have the power to ask about this key issue — and to vote accordingly. They can also ask their local sheriff to establish policies and procedures that help eligible voters in jails exercise their rights, and to allow organizations like ours to register people to vote in their facilities.

Voters can also ask their county’s Board of Elections to help voters in jails cast their ballots.

With your help, we can avoid further marginalizing justice-involved people and create a more inclusive democracy. Everyone should have a say in which officials represent their community and look out for their interests, even incarcerated individuals.