NEW YORK CITY IS
disenfranchising
Eligible Voters
Incarcerated New Yorkers deserve access to the ballot box.
Since 2020, the Vote in NYC Jails Coalition has assisted voters detained at Rikers Island with registering to vote and requesting an absentee ballot in advance of each Election Day. Despite our coalition’s presence and an increase in voter registration and absentee ballot requests, thousands of New Yorkers still face disenfranchisement.
There are no polling sites at Rikers Island, and therefore detained voters must rely on the absentee ballot process to vote. This process repeatedly falls short and fails communities of color and indigent people, who are disproportionately impacted by the criminal legal system.
Our democracy belongs to everyone, and detained voters must have their voices heard.
About the Coalition
We are a coalition of legal service providers, government offices, and community-based organizations dedicated to delivering the full promise of full enfranchisement to people currently detained in New York’s jails. Since 2021, members of the VJC have routinely registered people to vote at Rikers Island, provided critical voting information, and fought to ensure equal access to the ballot for detained voters. We regularly meet with agencies responsible for voters in jails, including the Department of Correction, the Board of Election, and Campaign Finance Board, and have advocated with elected officials for legislative change and increased oversight.
Member organizations include:
The Legal Aid Society, Latino Justice, Legal Action Center, Sorensen Center, National Action Network, Bronx Defenders, Brooklyn Defender Services, PROP (Police Reform Organizing Project), NYC Public Advocate’s Office, Freedom Agenda, VOCAL NY, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, League of Women Voters NYC, New York University’s Center on Race, Inequality and the Law, Community Service Society, and Five Borough Defenders, Campaign Legal Center.