Colorado could become the first state to require county jails to set up in-person voting stations for incarcerated voters under a Democratic-backed bill that has sparked criticism that it would pose financial and logistical hurdles to already-strapped sheriff’s offices.
Advocates of Senate Bill 72 say placing polling stations inside jails would reduce barriers to a fundamental right for those eligible to vote. Opponents say the current system is working and the new law would be an “unfunded mandate” that would cause disruptions.
In Colorado, incarcerated people awaiting trial or serving a sentence for a misdemeanor conviction are eligible to vote.
If passed, it could impact nearly 6,000 people who are confined waiting for a trial on any given Election Day in Colorado’s jails.
The bill would require county jails to bring a temporary polling center to allow for one day of in-person voting for all incarcerated eligible voters and require sheriffs, who oversee jails, to designate a staffer to facilitate voting and provide information to inmates about their eligibility and how to verify or change their voter registration.
Under current law, county clerks must make their best efforts to work with their county’s sheriff to facilitate voting for eligible voters inside the jail through mail-in ballots.
But some Colorado sheriffs and jail chiefs say the legislation could lead to an unrealistic number of logistical and financial hurdles for jail staff who are already stretched thin.
“We don’t have a problem with voting now, so this Senate bill is really trying to fix a problem that doesn’t exist,” said Gary Gittins, detentions division chief at the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. He also complained the legislation would provide no funding to pay for the changes.
“The system we have in place and have been using for several years is effective and it works well,” he added.
Ahead of elections, the Jefferson County jail posts flyers throughout its housing units and inmates are given access to tablets they can use to request a voter registration form, he said. Family members can also deliver a mail-in ballot from their home to their incarcerated family member inside the jail.
A single in-person voting station would likely cost about $2,500 to cover extra staffing and overtime costs, Gittins estimated. He also raised safety concerns about moving hundreds of people — who are separated in different units based on security classifications and medical issues — around the jail to vote.
But Jefferson County Clerk Amanda Gonzalez, a Democrat, argues the current system isn’t working and that people inside jails lack meaningful access to their ballot.
In the Jefferson County jail, which can house up to about 1,000 people, about 60% are awaiting trial and eligible to vote. In November, only six people inside the jail returned their mail-in ballots and in November 2022, only three ballots were returned, Gonzalez said.
While setting up the program in time for Colorado’s March 5 presidential primary is likely unrealistic, Gonzalez said her office feels it could implement the system, with cooperation from the sheriff’s office, by June, when the state’s other primary election will be held, and have it running smoothly by November in time for the general election.
“Ultimately, this is a civil rights issue,” she said. “Jails across the country have been able to facilitate in-person voting with great success and actual access. This bill would mean that we would need to figure out those logistics.”
“This is really, really possible and we would love to work with our sheriff’s office,” Gonzalez said.
The sheriff’s office is run by Sheriff Regina Marinelli, also a Democrat.
Gittens said it would be “problematic” for in-person voting to be introduced, even with the June timeframe.
“The clerk and recorder doesn’t operate the jail. I don’t believe she understands how this place functions,” Gittens said. “It’s not as simple as it sounds.”
In Denver, voter turnout inside the jail has been higher than general public
In Denver, where in-person voting inside detention centers has been provided since 2020, election data showed turnout was higher among inmates than among the general population in some races.
For the municipal runoff race in Denver in June, for instance,voter turnout inside the Denver County jail and downtown detention center was 58.7%, compared with the 36.8% turnout rate from the general public, said Kyle Giddings, civic engagement coordinator for the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition.
In the November 2023 election, voter turnout from inside the Denver jail was 43%, while the general population turnout was 36.5%.
“It’s important that those who are closest to the problem have an opinion and a voice in solutions related to criminal justice issues that end up on the ballot,” said Giddings, who helps run elections in Denver’s detention centers and was previously incarcerated.
Improving access to voting inside jails also helps people become invested in their communities in a meaningful way when they are released, he said.
“Helping individuals have a voice in the school board race meant a lot to individuals who had kids in the (Denver Public Schools) system and being able to vote on the people that were going to make decisions on their kids’ education,” he said.
On election days, Giddings said in-person voting stations are set up in the jail’s community room. He and other election judges go from pod to pod asking who wants to vote, help register them and check their eligibility.
When the Arapahoe County jail offered in-person voting in November 2022 and 2023, there were no security issues and many incarcerated voters were grateful for the opportunity, Arapahoe County jail Bureau Chief Jared Rowlison said.
The jail plans to offer in-person voting for the presidential primary election in March and general election in November, he said.
In-person voting required “quite a bit of staff time” for a designated employee at the jail to coordinate with the county clerk and recorder throughout the year and deputies helped escort eligible voters from their housing units to the voting station on Election Day, he said.
“It’s an investment in staff time that we believe is worth it,” Rowlison said.
Senate Bill 72 is scheduled to get its first hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee today.