(Madison, WI, Thursday, July 1, 2021) – In Wisconsin, most people do not become ineligible to vote unless they are serving a sentence for a felony or a misdemeanor for treason or bribery (and eligibility is restored after completion of a sentence – including parole, probation, or extended supervision). That means most of the estimated 13,000 people in Wisconsin’s county jails are eligible to vote, but often kept from casting their ballots because of administrative hoops and hurdles.

A new report by All Voting is Local examines jail-based voting in Wisconsin.

In O’Brien v. Skinner the Supreme Court affirmed that people in jail who are eligible voters in their state must be provided access to the franchise, and the manner in which jails do so is up to the state.

However, lackluster administrative policies mean that the vast majority of these individuals do not have the opportunity to register to vote, cast their ballot, and have that ballot counted. We refer to this as de facto disenfranchisement.

The ACLU of Wisconsin, All Voting is Local – Wisconsin and League of Women Voters of Wisconsin researched which Wisconsin County jails provide eligible voters in their care with an equal opportunity to register to vote and cast a ballot in every election. They      refer      to this broadly as “jail voting.” Their recently released research, a follow up to their initial report in 2020,  found the vast majority of jails are not still doing enough to ensure access to the ballot.

To protect the constitutional right to vote of those in their care, jail administrators must build detailed voting policies and procedures to be carried out by a community relations officer or social workers. Generally speaking, jail administrators must enact policies that ensure access to information, and opportunities to register to vote, cast a ballot, and verify that the ballot was counted. Proposed policies and procedures can be found in the report.

All Voting is Local fights to eliminate needless and discriminatory barriers to voting before they happen, to build a democracy that works for us all. It is a collaborative campaign housed at The Leadership Conference Education Fund, in conjunction with the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation; the American Constitution Society; the Campaign Legal Center; and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. For more information about All Voting is Local, visit https://allvotingislocal.org and follow the organization on Twitter @votingislocal.