Voting nearly impossible for eligible voters behind bars
October 2, 2020 10:38AM AKDT
By REBECCA BOONE Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Most of the three-quarters of a million people held in U.S. jails have the right to vote. But a new report from the Prison Policy Initiative finds many of them are unable to, stymied by misinformation, limited access to ballots and confusion from the officials in charge. Jails seldom have internet access or other simple ways for detainees to request absentee ballots. A few correctional systems have made progress. In March, the Cook County Jail in Chicago, Illinois became one of the first in the nation to operate as a jail polling station.