By Nikki Zinzuwadia
In the months leading up to Election Day, voting amid the COVID-19 pandemic has become an increasingly important issue.
With the ongoing risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19, people are concerned whether they can exercise their right to vote in a safe, fair, and accessible way. A recent study by the Pew Research Center found that nearly half of U.S. registered voters expect to have difficulties casting a ballot.
As the novel coronavirus spreads nationwide, its impact presents new challenges to electoral systems. States are grappling with how to conduct elections safely and securely while taking appropriate precautions. At the same time, debates over the expansion of mail-in balloting and other alternatives to in-person voting have erupted throughout the country in recent weeks.
But COVID-19 not only has the potential to impact how we vote, it could also change who is able to vote.
The current public health crisis poses a severe threat to America’s voting practices, worsening existing inequalities just as it has within the nation’s economy and healthcare system. Longstanding systemic barriers and health challenges can strongly disincentivize, and prevent, more vulnerable groups from voting than others. Potential voters struggling with pandemic-related upheavals in unemployment, housing downturn, and education may feel less inclined to vote and even lack opportunities to do so.
Black people, prisoners, and low-income individuals have historically faced disparities in accessing the right to vote. They have also suffered at a disproportionate level as COVID-19 continues to ravage the United States. Now, the high prevalence of COVID-19 in these communities suggests they could face more obstacles to their participation in the 2020 elections.
Voting access for those incarcerated in the country has long been critically compromised. As of 2016, an estimated 6.1 million people were forbidden to vote due to a felony conviction. About 2.5 percent of the total U.S. voting age population were disenfranchised due to a current or previous felony conviction. West Virginia currently denies voting rights to people convicted of felonies until their sentence is complete.
While felony disenfranchisement laws hinder millions of Americans from voting, there are about 470,000 people in local jails right now who are legally eligible to vote. This is because they are not serving a sentence for a felony conviction.
In West Virginia, those convicted of misdemeanors and those awaiting trial may apply for an absentee ballot or vote in person.
However, very few of these people actually vote, and many do not know they maintain the right to do so while incarcerated.
People detained in jails across the country, who are disproportionately people of color and come from low-income backgrounds, are commonly excluded from participating each election cycle. Jail administrators and election officials often fail to provide incarcerated individuals with important information about voting eligibility, registration, and deadlines. In addition, eligible voters in jails can lack access to absentee ballots or voting booths.
Now, the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic can make these existing inequities worse. In-person efforts by volunteers and advocacy groups to increase voter turnout among prisoners will be difficult. Additionally, without a commitment to prioritize the health and safety of incarcerated citizens, we will further deprive them of their ability to stay civically engaged.
By Aug. 11, The Marshall Project reported at least 95,398 incarcerated individuals and 21,103 correctional employees in the U.S. had tested positive for COVID-19. About 846 people in prison and 65 prison staff members have died from coronavirus-related causes.
While COVID-19 is a looming threat, it also allows an opportunity to improve voter participation and reform the voting system in the United States. Strengthening voting-in-jail practices is critical to ensuring that incarcerated individuals, who are eligible to vote, have their voices heard and do not face continued disenfranchisement and marginalization. Furthermore, expanding access to mail-in voting to people behind bars is more important than ever.
Voting is a fundamental part of America’s democracy. If an individual is eligible to vote, whether held in jail or not, that right must be honored and preserved. As the nation approaches the upcoming election in the midst of a global pandemic, we must take steps to protect those who are especially vulnerable to COVID-19 and at risk of not being able to participate in the democratic process.
No one should have to choose between their health and their right to vote. For incarcerated individuals, their voting rights could become another victim of COVID-19.