In the fall of 2017, Chicago Votes was asked to be the official sponsor of election activities in the Cook County Jail (CCJ). What started as a voter registration drive once a month, has expanded to include in-person election coordination, civic education, local administrative advocacy, and statewide legislative advocacy.
The goal is simple, increase access to the ballot and civic knowledge for Illinois’ incarcerated population. CCJ is one of the largest single-site county pre-detention facilities in the United States, admitting approximately 100,000 people annually and averaging a daily population of 6,000 people. While over 90% of those incarcerated in this facility have the right to vote, many of them do not know they are eligible to vote and are missing out on their opportunity to participate.
Chicago Votes’ CCJ Votes initiative aims to address this disconnect at a systematic level; working at the intersection of organizing and advocacy to ensure that people affected by the criminal justice system know their civic rights and responsibilities.
In the fall of 2017, Chicago Votes was asked to be the official sponsor of election activities in the Cook County Jail (CCJ). What started as a voter registration drive once a month, has expanded to include in-person election coordination, civic education, local administrative advocacy, and statewide legislative advocacy.
The goal is simple, increase access to the ballot and civic knowledge for Illinois’ incarcerated population. CCJ is one of the largest single-site county pre-detention facilities in the United States, admitting approximately 100,000 people annually and averaging a daily population of 6,000 people. While over 90% of those incarcerated in this facility have the right to vote, many of them do not know they are eligible to vote and are missing out on their opportunity to participate.
Chicago Votes’ CCJ Votes initiative aims to address this disconnect at a systematic level; working at the intersection of organizing and advocacy to ensure that people affected by the criminal justice system know their civic rights and responsibilities.
Our work in the Cook County Jail has inspired organizations and jails across the country to adopt our framework.
2018 CCJ Votes Report
Get the report!
Voter Registration
Chicago Votes volunteers enter the jail every second Sunday of the month to register community members in pretrial detention. Chicago Votes has been coordinating voter registration drives in the CCJ since September 2017!
Criminal Justice Legislation
Our work with previously incarcerated youth paired with our voter registration efforts in the CCJ uniquely positioned our organization to work in tandem with the ACLU of Illinois and the Shriver Center on poverty law to draft our first piece of legislation that marries our commitment to voting rights and criminal justice reform.
CCJ Elections
Chicago Votes has facilitated 2, jail wide elections. This was executed in partnership with the Cook County Jail, Cook County Clerk's office, Chicago Board of Elections, and the Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights.