Opinion: NYC Board of Elections must increase ballot access to incarcerated New Yorkers

Eagle file photo by jacob kaye

By Takeasha Newton, Anthony Posada and Victor Pate

New York City persistently deprives eligible voters who are detained pre-trial of their voting rights. We need to change this systematic disenfranchisement of incarcerated people as it negatively impacts the well-being of our communities.

While we as citizens have the constitutional right to participate in our civic process on all levels, in New York State that opportunity is stripped from those people who are in jail waiting for their court dates.

While people who are detained pre-trial can vote by absentee ballot, significant barriers prevent this because the process of accessing the ballot relies entirely on the Department of Corrections. The solution to end this disenfranchisement is to mandate the Board of Elections to set up polling sites in jails.

We must unlock the vote by removing the barriers of accessing the ballot for eligible voters who are detained in New York City jails for us to create stronger communities.

Most people on Rikers Island are people of color who are eligible voters, whether they are waiting for their court dates and cannot afford to pay bail or serving misdemeanor sentences. We are silencing their voices by systematically denying them access to the ballot.

Studies have shown positive rehabilitative benefits of being able to vote for people who are incarcerated such as giving them a voice in the system and developing a sense of being part of their community. When we deny eligible voters who are detained in jail access to the ballot, we are preventing them from re-engaging in our society and communities, we are also sending the message that their reintegration does not matter.

Our coalition, The Vote in Jails NYC Coalition, has worked with the DOC to ensure that eligible voters detained in jails can access the ballot. With the help of volunteers, we have spoken to hundreds of incarcerated people about the importance of voting and to assure them that their voices matter. We educate people about the civic process, demystify myths about voter eligibility, breakdown the roles of different elected offices, and register people to vote, but even with all that work it is still not enough to stop the trend of disenfranchisement.

Helping people register to vote in jails is not a guarantee that they will be able to cast their ballots. We repeatedly hear from individuals we helped register to vote and requested absentee ballots that they never received them.

The problem is that DOC does not allocate the required resources to ensure that voters can register and receive their ballots. Another major problem is that the BOE refuses to create polling sites in jails as if their votes did not matter.

Preventing eligible voters detained in jails with direct access to voting undermines our democracy. The direct consequence of silencing their voices is that it deprives our communities of resources and leaders of their choice.

A person’s ability to participate in the civic process has nothing to do with their crime of conviction or arrest and therefore should never be taken away. If our systems of incarceration are supposed to correct, hold accountable and promote rehabilitative behaviors then this should include full voting access and opportunity for civic engagement for all people.

Allowing incarcerated people to participate civically prepares them for reintegration by educating and engaging them on the issues and policies that will affect them upon their release. It is time to stop silencing the voices of incarcerated people by suppressing their vote, whether they are convicted of a felony or waiting for their court dates.

They have a right to vote; we must honor it so that our communities can become stronger.

Takeasha Newton is the lead community organizer with the Community Justice Unit at The Legal Aid Society, Anthony Posada is the supervising attorney with the Community Justice Unit at The Legal Aid Society and Victor Pate is a chaplain and co-director of the NY Campaign For Alternatives To Isolated Confinement.