The DC League is conducting classes in the DC Department and Corrections and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.   We do not have permission from the Federal Bureau of Prisons to use any of the photographs taken from our discussion session/class conducted in July 2023.  The conversations with DC citizens were lively.  Incarcerated members of the DC community are watching the news, and are very aware of the political, safety and local events in the District.  These DC citizens are, for the most part, registered to vote; although making sure their ballot arrives at the correct address in time to vote is something they need to pay attention to.  To that point both the DC Board of Elections and the DC League of Women Voters have email addresses that connect to incarcerated people at the more than 100 BOP locations where DC residents are held. The DC League is conducting classes in the DC Department and Corrections and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.   We do not have permission from the Federal Bureau of Prisons to use any of the photographs taken from our discussion session/class conducted in July 2023.  The conversations with DC citizens were lively.  Incarcerated members of the DC community are watching the news, and are very aware of the political, safety and local events in the District.  These DC citizens are, for the most part, registered to vote; although making sure their ballot arrives at the correct address in time to vote is something they need to pay attention to.  To that point both the DC Board of Elections and the DC League of Women Voters have email addresses that connect to incarcerated people at the more than 100 BOP locations where DC residents are held. 

The DC League is conducting classes in the DC Department and Corrections and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.   We do not have permission from the Federal Bureau of Prisons to use any of the photographs taken from our discussion session/class conducted in July 2023.  The conversations with DC citizens were lively.  Incarcerated members of the DC community are watching the news, and are very aware of the political, safety and local events in the District.  These DC citizens are, for the most part, registered to vote; although making sure their ballot arrives at the correct address in time to vote is something they need to pay attention to.  To that point both the DC Board of Elections and the DC League of Women Voters have email addresses that connect to incarcerated people at the more than 100 BOP locations where DC residents are held. 

While we took a group photo while at Petersburg Federal Corrections Institution, the BOP has not give the DC League of Women Voters the okay to use the two groups including DC voters.  There is no replacement for the full class pictures; however, here are the team from the DC League who took the trip to Petersburg and spent the morning with DC Voters.  
 

At Petersburg FCI: July 17, 2023 Myra Woods (LWVDC Trustee for Voter Services) Anne Laroche (LWVDC Member) and Kathy Chiron, LWVDC Past President.   Keith Forney (LWVDC Member)also there was not pictured. 

The DC Board of Elections was represented by, Scott Sussman, Lenez McCann and Osvaldo Vieira.  FCI Cumberland in Cumberland MD, was the next location for our team on National Voter Registration Day. There we had 91 attendees.  Similarly, at the DC Department of Corrections, we have been joined by Angie Whitehurst and Charles Thornton (DC League Members) to conduct two Voting While Incarcerated classes in the CDF and the CTF every month through December.  

Being prepared for the 2024 election will require technology to reach all incarcerated DC voters.  The DC League, the Department of Corrections, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons understand that a small team of facilitators will not do the job of preparing over 2,000 DC people who are in Federal Prisons all over the US, and 1,600 residents being held at the DC Jail.  We are busy working with volunteers to transform the Voting While Incarcerated in-person class developed in 2023 by Debbie Polhemus and Sophie Oberstein.  Our goal for the DC Department of Corrections is to create electronic formats suitable for the tablets provided to all DOC residents. Other forms of distribution are needed for the BOP, where incarcerated men and women do not have access to technology.  

We are working with the BOP to inform DC voters and educate them on steps to improve their ability to access the ballot in 2024.  It’s complicated because every facility has its own norms and processes. More advocacy work and process changes within the BOP must to be done to help voters understand candidate positions and election issues.  We continue to participate with coalitions at the state and the federal level whose goal is to improve access to the ballot and provide enabling voter education.