{"id":1363,"date":"2022-10-12T12:23:36","date_gmt":"2022-10-12T17:23:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thepitchkc.com\/jackson-county-sheriff-wont-let-voter-registration-groups-inside-jail-citing-a-law-that-doesnt-exist\/"},"modified":"2022-12-28T12:24:17","modified_gmt":"2022-12-28T18:24:17","slug":"jackson-county-sheriff-wont-let-voter-registration-groups-inside-jail-citing-a-law-that-doesnt-exist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/more2.org\/jackson-county-sheriff-wont-let-voter-registration-groups-inside-jail-citing-a-law-that-doesnt-exist\/","title":{"rendered":"Jackson County sheriff won’t let voter registration groups inside jail, citing a law that doesn’t exist"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sheriff Darryl Fort\u00e9 has pointed to a nonexistent provision in Missouri\u2019s new voting law to limit voter registration efforts inside the Jackson County jail, where hundreds of detainees are potentially eligible voters. Missouri\u2019s voter registration deadline is Oct. 12. \/\/ Courtesy Kansas City Beacon<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This story originally ran in the Kansas City Beacon.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Social justice and voting rights groups in Kansas City have been calling on Sheriff Darryl Fort\u00e9 to allow voter registration activities inside the Jackson County jail for several weeks. But as Missouri\u2019s Oct. 12 deadline to register to vote approaches, Fort\u00e9\u2019s stance has left advocates confused and frustrated.<\/p>\n

Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity (MORE2), the organization trying to set up voter registration at the jail, said the sheriff\u2019s office has not cooperated with its attempts to bring registration groups to the detainees.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been waiting to hear back from the sheriff\u2019s office to explain to us what the protocol is, and if there\u2019s not a system in place, we want to work together to ensure there is one before Oct. 12,\u201d MORE2 leader Christine McDonald said last week.<\/p>\n

In an interview with The Beacon, Fort\u00e9 said the jail has registered 45 individuals to vote in the Nov. 8 election. MORE2 estimates that about 400 detainees would be eligible to vote in Jackson County jail in this election if registered, but that many of these people may not know they are eligible to vote.<\/p>\n

\u2018Let our people vote\u2019<\/h2>\n

MORE2 initially reached out to the sheriff\u2019s office the week of Sept. 12 to set up a day for voter registration groups to come into the jail to provide information to detainees and get them registered to vote. But after two weeks with no response, MORE2 held a demonstration in front of the Jackson County jail on Sept. 27, with members of the group chanting \u201cLet our people vote.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sheriff responded on Oct. 3 with an email that said, \u201cInmates at the JCDC are being allowed to register. Not certain who might be distributing inaccurate information.\u201d<\/p>\n

When MORE2 followed up, asking again if it could facilitate a voter registration drive inside the jail with local voter registration groups, Fort\u00e9 responded, \u201cI appreciate your desire to assist. We already have adequate resources to handle registration.\u201d<\/p>\n

McDonald and other MORE2 leaders remained skeptical.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow we\u2019re being told there is a process in place. We\u2019ve asked, OK, explain it to us \u2026 And they still will not tell us,\u201d McDonald said. \u201cAnother thing we\u2019re not getting any comment on is how many people they have registered to vote.\u201d<\/p>\n

MORE2 still had no answer on Oct. 7, less than a week before the voter registration deadline.<\/p>\n

Fort\u00e9 cites a nonexistent legal provision to limit registrations<\/h2>\n

When The Beacon reached Fort\u00e9 for an interview on Oct. 10, he said the jail staff had registered 45 voters among the detained residents. Fort\u00e9 said that these were the only detainees who were interested in registering to vote in Jackson County jail.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a closed system in the jail. We don\u2019t invite everybody in,\u201d Fort\u00e9 said. \u201cAnd we only have fewer than 50 people who want to register.\u201d<\/p>\n

Out of Jackson County jail\u2019s 2019 daily average population of 872 inmates, roughly 80%, or about 700 detainees, are awaiting trial and therefore presumed innocent, according to\u00a0the jail\u2019s website<\/a>. Based on conversations with law enforcement, MORE2 assumed that roughly 300 are still on parole or probation for a previous conviction and therefore ineligible to vote.<\/p>\n

That left their estimate at 400 detainees who are eligible to vote in Jackson County jail. Calvin Williford, a community organizer at MORE2, called that number a \u201cconservative extrapolation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sheriff could not confirm the accuracy of this estimate.<\/p>\n

Fort\u00e9 said the jail is only allowed to register 50 voters according to a provision in Missouri\u2019s\u00a0new voting law<\/a>\u00a0that\u00a0took effect Aug. 28<\/a>. According to several sources, this provision does not exist.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new law won\u2019t let you register more than 50 (people) in any election cycle,\u201d Fort\u00e9 said. \u201cWe have a registrar at the jail, and I was advised that they can\u2019t register \u2014 and again, it\u2019s not for a detention center, but that\u2019s any organization \u2014 you can\u2019t register more than 50 during an election cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said that the jail is limited to 50 people, regardless of whether any outside groups volunteer to assist.<\/p>\n

The Beacon asked the Kansas City Election Board (KCEB) about the provision that the sheriff cited, and Democratic director Lauri Ealom said that she was not aware of any restriction like the one Fort\u00e9 described. Neither were League of Women Voters of Kansas City (LWVKC) President Anne Calvert or Williford from MORE2.<\/p>\n

Denise Lieberman, director and general counsel of the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition, said the 50-person restriction does not exist. The Missouri Voter Protection Coalition is currently\u00a0challenging the state\u2019s new voter law in court<\/a>\u00a0alongside the American Civil Liberties Union.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve read that bill dozens and dozens of times,\u201d Lieberman said. \u201cI am living, breathing and sleeping that bill every single day of my life right now. And I can tell you, I have not seen anything that would in any way limit the total number of people that can be registered (in a jail).\u201d<\/p>\n

When informed of this, the sheriff clarified that the jail is only provided 50 application cards by the KCEB, and if the jail\u2019s registrar needs more, they must request them from the secretary of state. However, if voter registration groups like LWVKC or the NAACP register detainees to vote in Jackson County jail, they would bring their own application cards.<\/p>\n

With no legal explanation limiting their ability to register additional voters, advocates are left wondering why they were not allowed to organize a voter drive at the jail.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the great challenges here and frustrations is the lack of transparency,\u201d Williford said. \u201cOne of the great things about schools is that there are parent teacher associations that have access to schools and can look behind the walls to see what goes on. In jails and prisons, we have wardens and sheriffs that consistently don\u2019t provide access. So the public doesn\u2019t know what truly is going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

People in the criminal justice system often wrongly assume they can\u2019t vote<\/h2>\n

Fort\u00e9 said that registering voters at the jail is a short process.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst, they\u2019re asked if they are eligible and they want to participate. And then they fill out an application in front of our registrar, and we submit those to the election board,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But advocates say the process is sometimes more complicated for people with a criminal history.<\/p>\n

\u201cI, myself, as someone who has felony convictions, I didn\u2019t know that I had the right to vote, nor did I know I was eligible to vote,\u201d McDonald said. \u201cI, just like many, many other thousands of Missourians that are convicted felons, just assume we can\u2019t vote.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Missouri, people with felony convictions regain their right to vote once they complete their sentences and are no longer under supervision. McDonald said that participating in elections is an important step in preventing recidivism.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe data tells us that when individuals involved with criminal pasts (vote), they\u2019re more invested in their community and their chances of recommitting a crime lessen because they\u2019re invested in their community,\u201d McDonald said.<\/p>\n

Calvert said that if the sheriff needs assistance registering voters, LWVKC is happy to help. \u201cYes, I would personally go,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

With less than 48 hours left before the voter registration deadline, MORE2 was continuing to urge the sheriff to allow voter groups such as LWVKC or the NAACP to enter the jail to provide information and register eligible voters.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hear that the sheriff says that he\u2019s registered 45 people because no one else was interested, but there is an absolute belief that if people know about their right to vote, they\u2019re going to engage in that registration process,\u201d Williford said. \u201cThat lack of transparency and openness fuels this level of distrust, and of course, helps to suppress the vote.\u201d\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tTags:<\/span><\/span> 2022 Election<\/a>,<\/span> Christine McDonald<\/a>,<\/span> Darryl Forte<\/a>,<\/span> jackson county jail<\/a>,<\/span> LWVKC<\/a>,<\/span> Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity<\/a>,<\/span> MORE2<\/a>,<\/span> police accountability<\/a>,<\/span> police reform<\/a>,<\/span> Prison reform<\/a>,<\/span> social justice<\/a>,<\/span> voter registration<\/a>,<\/span> voting rights<\/a>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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