Earlier this week, Voting Access for All Coalition (VAAC) convened the first meeting of a Statewide Jail Voting Work Group, bringing together advocates, community organizations, election officials, and volunteers from across Michigan.

In Michigan, individuals who are in jail or prison awaiting trial or arraignment and not serving a sentence remain eligible to vote. However, many people detained in jails face barriers to receiving voter information, registering, or accessing absentee ballots while incarcerated.

The Jail Voting Work Group focuses on strengthening voter education, voter registration, and absentee ballot access for people detained in county jails across Michigan.

Ensuring access to the ballot for people detained in jails is an important part of building civic power with justice-impacted communities that are too often overlooked in the democratic process. Strengthening jail voting systems helps ensure that all eligible voters can exercise that right, even while navigating incarceration.

Community members, organizations, and volunteers who want to support jail voting efforts across Michigan are encouraged to get involved with the work group.

Individuals who would still like to participate in the Jail Voting Work Group are asked to complete the Jail Voting Work Group scheduling and volunteer engagement form by the end of day Tuesday, March 17. Responses will help determine the best ongoing meeting schedule and identify how people would like to contribute to the work. Based on responses, the next meeting is expected to take place between March 24 and April 3.

If you have additional resources, research, or experiences related to jail voting that you believe would benefit the group, please feel free to share them with us.

VAAC is grateful to be working alongside so many committed partners across Michigan who are helping strengthen access to the ballot for eligible voters detained in jails.

Resources Referenced in the Kickoff Meeting

Reports and Resources

• Ensuring the Right to Vote: How to Expand Voting Access in Michigan Jails — a 2021 in-depth report on voting in Michigan jails from Voting Access for All and Nation Outside.

Additional Resources on Jail Voting and Voting Access

• VAAC website Jail Voting page
• Adopt a Jail program outline
• Clerk Jail Voting talking points and leave-behind document
• 2024 two-page jail voter information resource (used in jails on tablets, as handouts, and as posters)
• Poster used in jails