BOISE, Idaho – Most of the three-quarters of a million people held in U.S. jails have the right to vote. But many of them are unable to, stymied by misinformation, limited access to registration and ballots and confusion from the officials in charge.
The result is widespread voter disenfranchisement, say experts with the Prison Policy Initiative. The advocacy organization released a report detailing voting access for jail inmates with Rainbow PUSH Coalition, a civil rights advocacy group formed by the Rev.
Jesse Jackson, on Friday. “I think that the clearest situation to this would be to make voting machines available in every jail on election day,” PPI lawyer Ginger Jackson-Gleich said Thursday.