For most Allegheny County voters, casting a ballot is easy: Even if they can’t vote in person on Election Day, they might request a mail-in or absentee ballot. But for people incarcerated in local jails, the task can be more complicated.
And the first challenge — knowing you have the right to vote in the first place — may be the hardest to overcome.
Most people are “unaware that if you are incarcerated or if you're awaiting trial or if you're on parole, you usually have a right to vote,” said Vivienne Sinagra, a campaign manager with advocacy group All Voting Is Local.
Under Pennsylvania law, only those convicted of a felony or of violating election laws are prohibited from voting while incarcerated. But the majority of the more than 1,900 people currently held at Allegheny County Jail don’t fall into either category: They are awaiting trial and have not been convicted of a crime.
“Nobody deserves to be disenfranchised, especially those who have been impacted by the justice system,” Sinagra said.
But on average, advocates say, as few as 4% of people incarcerated in Pennsylvania jails exercise their right to vote.
County officials have been trying to improve on that. According to a 2024 report from All Voting Is Local, Allegheny County Jail is one of only a handful in the state that has a staff member dedicated to organizing a facility voting program, and that offers written policies that affirm incarcerated people’s right to vote.
Assistant deputy warden of programs and services Connie Clark, who administers the program, said jail administrators are trying to be more proactive about informing incarcerated people of their rights.
“We started putting the information out on the housing units and putting information onto our [electronic] tablet system, reminding people of the deadlines for when voter registration and absentee ballots are supposed to happen so they could get their forms turned in,” Clark said.
Those efforts are producing results. Thirteen incarcerated people registered when officials began tracking statistics in 2023. That number increased to 53 in this year’s spring primary — and to 252 new voters during a drive this fall.
A partnership with community groups helped drive those gains.
Starting in August, members of the Black Political Empowerment Project (B-PEP), the League of Women Voters of Greater Pittsburgh and other community volunteers made four visits to the jail, registering people to vote and helping them apply for mail-in ballots.
Volunteers and jail caseworkers went from pod to pod explaining the offices up for election, outlining incarcerated people’s rights, and stressing the importance of voting.
“Your vote is more powerful than ever,” Alan Guenther, a volunteer with the Pennsylvania Prison Society, told one group as they sat at gray tables in the common area.
Guenther and his fellow volunteers answered logistical questions, like “If I moved since I last voted, should I register again?” (Yes, you must update your information.) There were political considerations as well, like, “Do I have to vote for my party’s candidate?” (No.)
Those efforts bear fruit on Oct. 31, when ACJ holds its own “election day:” County elections staff bring mail-in ballots to the jail, the ballots are filled out, and they’re delivered to the elections warehouse on the North Side. There, they will be counted with the rest of the mail-in ballots on Nov. 5. (Registered voters who end up behind bars after the mail-in ballot request window closes can still submit an emergency absentee ballot.)
Despite the county’s efforts to boost election participation, voter education remains a stumbling block. The League of Women Voters provides a nonpartisan candidate guide shared on the electronic tablets given to incarcerated people. But not every person gets to use a tablet or knows the information is available on it. Their exposure to the candidates is otherwise limited to what they might see on television, or what they may have learned about them before entering jail.
“I feel I haven't been receiving honestly the best [information],” said Alon Hatch, who registered to vote this year while incarcerated. “They don't really give us anything about the election. So the only time that I can look forward to it or figure out what's going on about it is watching the news. And the only time I can watch the news is during recreation hours.”
And despite the growth in registration numbers, only a small fraction of those behind bars are signed up to vote this fall.
“We make sure we get the information out there that we educate the individuals who are incarcerated in this jail, so that they can exercise their right if they so choose,” Clark said. “We cannot force anyone to vote. We would not force anyone to vote. It's strictly up to them.”
Sinagra, who worked on All Voting Is Local’s 2024 report, said that compared to other jails, ACJ does “a good job of working with advocacy groups that want to help them get through the process.” But, she added, “I would encourage them to have more informational sessions. And I would also encourage … all jails in Pennsylvania to collect data and metrics and try to work to handle discrepancies in who is being reached and who is being educated” about voting.
A proposed state House bill would require jails to expand voter education, but it has been stalled in committee.
The low participation rate behind bars disproportionately impacts people of color. In Allegheny County, Black people make up only 14% of the overall population, but 65% of the population behind bars. The higher rate, combined with decades of racially discriminatory voting systems, constitute a “double dip of disenfranchisement,” the report argues.
“One of the big things is just repeating the process and trying to reach people as many times as possible, especially if you're trying to reach a community or population that you may not get everybody in the first pass,” Sinagra said.
She encouraged Pennsylvania jails to boost their efforts, especially since voting can mark a key step towards rehabilitating incarcerated people and reintegrating them into their communities.
“If you want to see a change in the justice system, if you've been affected by it, the number-one way you can start that process is by voting,” she said. “That's kind of the first line of civic engagement if you've been affected by a system, is voting in line with your values.
“If you want a functioning, healthy democracy, you need to ensure that everyone is able to cast a vote.”
“People that are in the jail often feel powerless, and this is an opportunity for them to be empowered to exercise their right and still be a part of society, even though they're in the jail,” said Clark.
One of them is Charlotte Hill, who is casting her absentee ballot from the jail this week.
“I feel pretty good because I thought I wasn't going to be able to vote because I was in jail,” she said. “But I'm happy that we are able to vote because it makes me feel like I didn't lose everything. And I still matter.”
