Local officials have lamented the low voter turnout in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County for this year’s presidential election. But among the hardest-to-reach and most-often disenfranchised voters — people in jail — turnout held steady.
Northeast Ohio Voter Advocates, a nonpartisan nonprofit that focuses on registering voters at places such as food pantries and correctional facilities, helped to register 115 voters at the Cuyahoga County Jail this fall and 51 of those people cast ballots in the general election, according to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, which collects ballots from the facility.
That’s a turnout of a little over 44%. To compare, voter turnout in the city of Cleveland, where the downtown jail is currently located, was 46% or 41% as compared to the city’s voting-age population.
This year, under a new policy, trained NOVA volunteers worked to register people held in the jail. Individuals held in maximum security were excluded. Afterward, absentee ballots were delivered to the jail and then collected by elections board employees.
Meredith Hellmer, NOVA board president, said the jail’s population is fluid, so there’s always a chance some people who register will be released or transferred to a prison before the election.
About 18,000 people regain the right to vote when released from Ohio prisons each year. People convicted of misdemeanor crimes or awaiting trial can vote, even if they’re in jail. Often, people don’t know they have that right or fear repercussions if they use it. There can be logistical barriers, such as having proper identification. And in some cases, worries about a pending criminal case are more important.
This year, The Marshall Project surveyed 54,000 people behind bars about their views on the presidential election including nearly 3,000 in Ohio jails and prisons. Some didn’t know or didn’t believe they had the right to vote while in jail.
Of 150 people in the Cuyahoga County Jail who answered the survey question, about 40% said being incarcerated motivated them to vote, nearly twice the 21% who said being locked up decreased their desire to vote. The rest said incarceration did not affect their plans to cast a ballot.
“My time has had a major impact on my motivation to vote because it has shown me what is wrong with the policies that our political advocates have put into effect,” said one Black man, who answered the survey from the jail.
“I feel as though we as the people who vote for the policies to go into effect should research and read what we’re voting for and, in turn, that’s what has motivated me to be more active in politics.”
