AB 544 (Bryan): Voting Pilot County Jails

The Honorable Gavin Newsom
Governor, State of California
1020 N Street, Suite 9000
Sacramento, CA 95814 

VIA: Leg.Unit@Gov.CA.Gov

RE: AB 544 (Bryan): Voting Pilot County Jails, Request for Signature

Dear Governor Newsom,

Together We Stand supports AB 544 by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, to provide, upon appropriation, that the Secretary of State provide grants to the Counties of San Benito, San Mateo and Santa Cruz, to support collaboration between county election officials and sheriff’s departments to pilot and evaluate efforts to improve voter participation for citizens temporarily held in county jails or similar facilities. These pilots will help develop a California model of cost-effective voter involvement, address racial disparities in voter turnout, and support rehabilitative civic engagement among low-income people pushed to the fringes of society.

California law provides that eligible voters held in jails have the right to vote. However, incarcerated Californians are often unable to access their voting rights either because they are underserved by the elections system, or because they are unaware of their constitutional rights and civic opportunities. AB 544 will evaluate how people temporarily held in county jails can safely participate in primary and general elections. Voters will be afforded the ability to vote-by-mail and, when appropriate, to register onsite and provide a provisional ballot.

Currently, most elections offices and Sheriff’s Departments in California only allow for mail-in voting, which has resulted in historically low rates of participation. This is in part because jail administrators generally lack training about voting laws or lack support from county elections officials, and voters must be pre-registered to vote from jail weeks before the election for their ballots to arrive on time. 

There are models of voter engagement in California and other states that have increased voter participation among those held in local jails. In Los Angeles County, the County Registrar, in collaboration with the County Sheriff, used flex and mobile voting centers to get 1,700 incarcerated voters registered at two jail facilities in Los Angeles County during the 2020 election. Cook County Jail in Chicago established its first jail-based polling location in 2020. Before polling stations were established in jail, voter turnout was less than 7 percent via mail-in ballot. By contrast, the first year that polling stations were introduced inside, voter turnout increased to 37 percent. And in the June 2022 primary, people in the Cook County jail turned out at a higher rate than registered voters in Chicago overall. The availability of same day registration was a key component in the success of the program.

AB 544 (Bryan) provides for participation for eligible incarcerated voters in the pilot counties and is an important step to ensure that our democracy works for everyone. Importantly, the evaluations of these pilots will support future efforts for a safe, secure and cost-effective means of increasing voter turnout for low-income people. Civic engagement and voter participation inspires a sense of community, and a sense of citizenship. In this way, voting reduces recidivism and builds public safety. For these reasons, we support AB 544 (Bryan) and respectfully request your signature into law.

Sincerely, 

Together We Stand
Board of Directors