Protecting incarcerated individual’s voting rights
The San Francisco Sheriff’s Office Prisoner Legal Services registers voters at San Francisco’s jails
The San Francisco Sheriff’s Office Prisoner Legal Services registers voters at San Francisco’s jails
Incarcerated people in California are eligible to vote unless they are serving a state or federal prison sentence in the county jail. Approximately 85 percent of San Francisco’s incarcerated population is awaiting trial on charges and may be eligible to vote. The Department of Elections verifies a person’s eligibility to vote prior to a ballot being issued.
California Secretary of State
Who can vote in CaliforniaSince the year 2000, the Prisoner Legal Services unit in the Sheriff’s Office has registered voters at San Francisco jails for approximately six weeks before every election registration deadline. San Francisco’s Department of Elections provides registered voters in jail with vote-by-mail ballots and local voter information pamphlets. The California Secretary of State’s office supplies the state’s voter information guide.
Expanding voting rights to incarcerated people at San Francisco County Jails is at the heart of the Sheriff’s Office’s mission. Voting is one of the ways people in jail function in a productive, lawful manner.