Something that is not widely known is that many inmates who are currently incarcerated can vote across the Commonwealth
This means that there are more than 20,000 voters in county jails right now who are eligible, but some state legislators are concerned that a majority of incarcerated eligible voters are not voting
They brought those concerns to the area today
Our Zac Kay joins us live now Zac what are we learning?
Today members of the State’s Legislative Black Caucus took a tour here at the Centre County Correctional Facility and then held a press conference, where they say there are an estimated 25,000 eligible voters in county jails, but less than 1,000 of them are actually voting.
Centre County was one stop on a statewide tour being done by the Black Caucus to address voting for those incarcerated. They say that if someone is being held in a county jail, as long as it isn’t for a felony, they are eligible to vote through an absentee ballot.
They applauded the work being done by Centre County, and the Warden showed those in attendance the voting guide that they provide to inmates to help educate them. He says that prior to 2018, they did not offer voting to those incarcerated, but since then have adopted a robust policy.
State Representative Rick Krajewski was one of the speakers today, and says the elected officials in Centre County have been working closely with each other on this issue, and says that’s a good model to follow.
“I think having that level of staff to staff relationship is important because that makes sure there’s a continuous through line between someone being interested in voting and that ballot actually being submitted.”
The Legislative Black Caucus will continue their statewide tour until the end of October, with a stop in Erie in just a couple of weeks.
