With new requirements, groups want early action to boost jail, prison voting access in Massachusetts

Chris Lisinski

Massachusetts corrections officials face new requirements starting next year to ensure that eligible incarcerated Bay Staters have access to ballots and voter materials, and a group of advocates want sheriffs to take those steps sooner.

The Democracy Behind Bars Coalition and the African American Coalition Committee wrote to county sheriffs suggesting best practices for helping people in custody exercise their right to vote, such as designating a staff member at each correctional facility to facilitate voting and provide non-partisan educational information such as the secretary of state’s voter guide, and requested meetings to help the sheriffs implement the recommended changes.

An elections reform law Gov. Charlie Baker signed in June requires correctional facilities to craft new policies aimed at ensuring eligible inmates have easier access to the polls, including support for timely vote-by-mail and absentee ballots, and those measures take effect Jan. 1, 2023.

Many incarcerated people in Massachusetts remain eligible to vote, including those held pre-trial and those serving sentences for misdemeanors, but criminal justice reform advocates warn that they face significant obstacles to participating in elections. “All too often, they do not even know that they are eligible. With few exceptions, incarcerated people (are) not given access to essential voter information such as election dates, candidate information, and instructions on how to vote,” the coalitions wrote in a Tuesday press release. “Additionally, incarcerated voters often depend on frequently delayed mail delivery systems to cast absentee ballots.”