Colorado County Establishes In-Person Voting for Jail Inmates

MESA COUNTY, Colo. (KKTV) – A prison in Colorado recently gave its inmates a chance to vote!

In the state of Colorado, those in prison awaiting trial, as well as those on parole or parole, can vote in elections just like anyone else. But for many who find themselves behind bars on Election Day or in the weeks leading up to it, they don’t have the chance to exercise that right, or maybe they don’t know they can.

The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office has worked to change that by setting up a makeshift polling place for eligible inmates in the county jail.

“We gave them the chance and the opportunity to come and vote at a regular polling place,” Mesa County Sheriff’s Office Administrative Sgt. Christi Montez told 11 News KKCO. “The election office went in, set up booths just like a normal election office, and the inmates had a chance to go in and actually vote.”

According to Montez, many people don’t know what Colorado’s laws are regarding people who are incarcerated or have previous convictions.

“Offering in-person voting increased our voter turnout tremendously because it gave them an opportunity to come down and see if they were eligible to vote. Many of our inmates have never voted before,” Montez said. “It was the first time they ever registered to vote or didn’t realize they could vote.”

More about these laws can be found here.

KKCO reports that more than 120 inmates voted in the general election thanks to the sheriff’s office — something Montez said was heartwarming to see.

“I didn’t realize how much of an impact it had on me, seeing them come in, come down and be excited that they had a chance to vote,” Montez said. “It’s important to give them the opportunity to have a voice in the voting system in an election.”