Advocates held an election day rally today outside the New York City Board of Elections (BOE) headquarters, calling on the BOE and the New York City Department of Correction (DOC) to ensure that every eligible voter incarcerated in city jails can cast a ballot that is counted on this and all future election days.

At least 6,000 New Yorkers held at Rikers Island are potentially eligible to vote, and more than 92 percent of those detained are people of color, reflecting the deep racial disparities in the city’s criminal legal system. By neglecting to facilitate voting in jails, the BOE and DOC are effectively disenfranchising Black and Brown New Yorkers.

To achieve true voting equity, the BOE must establish polling sites in city jails. In-jail polling sites would ensure that ballots are not rejected, that voters can immediately correct any issues, and that all eligible voters can cast ballots during the full voting period.  Similar programs have been successfully implemented in other jurisdictions across the country.

“For too long, incarcerated New Yorkers — the majority of whom are people of color — have been subjected to widespread disenfranchisement inside New York City jails,” said Takeasha Newton, Lead Community Organizer in the Community Justice Unit at Legal Aid. “This is an affront to democracy that must come to an end.”

“Polling sites must be established in city jails to ensure that no New Yorker who is eligible to vote is denied the fundamental right to make their voice heard at the ballot box,” she continued. “The BOE must be held accountable for neglecting their responsibility, year after year, to guarantee ballot access for all New Yorkers, regardless of whether they are incarcerated.”

The Vote in NYC Jails Coalition led today’s rally, participants included New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams, Councilmember Gale Brewer, The Legal Aid Society, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, the League of Women Voters of the City of New York, and the NYC Chapter National Action Network Second Chance Committee.