In-Person Voting for Incarcerated Individuals

About the Program

Category: Civic Education and Public Information (Best in Category)

Year: 2023

The implementation of Voting Solutions for All People (VSAP) in 2020 provided an upgraded voting experience to all voters. The Registrar Recorder’s Office (Registrar) created the Mobile and Flex Program to expand voting to incarcerated individuals and other groups that have traditionally lacked access to the voting process. Mobile and Flex vote centers are single day activations taking voting directly to targeted audiences. In 2020, a Flex vote center was activated at Century Regional Detention Facility for Women as a pilot program referred to as “Voting While Incarcerated”, within LA County’s broader initiative “LA Free the Vote” which the Registrar co-leads and whose mission is to ensure those impacted by the criminal legal system are civically engaged. Prior to 2020, incarcerated individuals could only cast a vote by mail ballot (VBM). Utilizing VBM required multiple steps spanning the course of several months. VSAP and a Flex vote center provided incarcerated individuals with complete access to a modern, streamlined, secure voting opportunity that eliminated all issues associated with the VBM process. In 2022 the program expanded to include two of the county’s seven jail facilities, including the first ever Men’s facility, with plans to expand to all seven facilities in 2024.