Update
The Prison Society was honored to join civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. at the Dauphin County Prison on Monday, the final day to register to vote in the upcoming election.
Jackson, a longtime advocate for voting rights, was there to educate and help register incarcerated voters on a visit arranged by the Prison Society, The Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus, and his Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
“We need to focus on everyone who is eligible to vote and make sure they have the information and resources they need to make informed decisions,” Jackson said.
In Pennsylvania, incarceration only disqualifies a person from voting if they are currently serving a felony sentence, meaning that the majority of people held in county jails are eligible to vote. But few incarcerated people are able to exercise that right, owing to a lack of support for voting by corrections officials and the complications of casting a ballot from jail.
Jackson has had a storied career fighting to include historically marginalized Americans in the democratic process, from working closely with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement of the 1960s to being arrested for protesting proposals to restrict voting access at the U.S. Capitol in 2021. His two presidential campaigns during the Democratic primaries of 1984 and 1988 registered millions of new voters and helped establish Black voters as a national political force.
Now 83 and living with Parkinson’s Disease, Jackson brought his spirited voter advocacy work to a jail in the capital of Pennsylvania. Dauphin County Prison has become a model for facilitating voting behind bars, working with 1 Vote Counts to register 118 voters this year and help incarcerated people return over 80 completed mail-in ballots so far.
In the main prison hallway known as “The Green Mile,” an aide guided Jackson’s wheelchair toward the large group cells off to the side, where he stopped to shake hands with incarcerated people and ask if they were registered to vote. With his voice weakened by Parkinson’s, Jackson’s aide helped amplify his words.
“Your votes make a difference. You all make a difference,” Jackson told them. His presence brightened the mood and inspired at least one more incarcerated man to register just before the deadline. As he left, several shouted back at Jackson to say they were energized and inspired to vote.
Leigh Owens, the Prison Society’s education and advocacy director, told Jackson and the Rev. Bobby Lewis of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition about the Prison Society’s work to expand access to the vote in prisons, including advocating for legislation that would require county jails to create and carry out policies to facilitate voting.
“This work is not about electing a candidate,” Leigh said. “It's about building power in disenfranchised communities.” Building electoral power in the incarcerated population, in turn, helps create a much-needed lever of accountability for prisons and jails.
During his visit to Dauphin County Prison, Jackson also met with State Rep. Rick Krajewski, who sponsored legislation to support voting in jail, Michelle Mardenborough, Founder and Executive Director of 1 Vote Counts, and local elected officials. He praised the work being done in Pennsylvania to expand access to voting behind bars.
“Today was a great day, but it is more than just a day,” Jackson said. “It is a moment in the movement,” he said. “Take this moment and move on this opportunity.”
Sarah Estey, the Prison Society’s communications and helpline associate, contributed to this story.
