VOICE

Voter Outreach Increases Community Empowerment

The Alameda County Public Defender’s Office believes that the voices of incarcerated people are critically important and must be represented in our elections. Unfortunately, many incarcerated people incorrectly believe that they are not allowed to vote.

VOICE empowers eligible incarcerated individuals to vote by providing voting rights education, directly aiding with voter registration, and advocating to expand voting rights to all incarcerated people.

We continually work to improve access to voting for incarcerated people in Santa Rita Jail with the support of the Alameda County Sheriff Office’s Inmate Services unit. Founded in November of 2016, VOICE registered over 1,000 incarcerated people to vote in its first three years.

Can I vote?

Please see the chart and video below for details about who can and cannot legally vote.

(Note: You must also be age 18 or older by the next election day, a U.S. Citizen, and a California resident.)

Voting Rights Video

Check out the short voting rights video our office created for people who are incarcerated at Santa Rita Jail in English and Spanish below.
Videos by Manuel Ortiz

DISCLAIMER: This site is meant to provide information of a general nature which you should verify with an attorney before relying upon it. It does not provide legal advice and is not meant to establish an attorney-client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice you should ALWAYS contact an attorney.