Advocates are working to increase incarcerated voter engagement in San Diego. Here's how:

The County Registrar of Voters has collaborated with the San Diego County Sheriff's Office and nonprofits like the League of Women Voters to increase voter registration. 

The Sheriff's Office told CBS 8 voter guides are mailed by the ROV and "Easy Voter Guides" are made available upon request and were created by the ROV and the League of Women Voters. 

CBS 8 reached out to the League of Women Voters for an interview but have not heard back.

Criminal justice nonprofits like San Diego-based Pillars of the Community have also jumped in.

CBS 8 spoke with James Pittman, a man currently incarcerated in George Bailey Detention Facility. He, along with seven other incarcerated people, were hired by Pillars as "inside organizers" to help incarcerated people register to vote and fill out their ballots. 

Pittman has registered 33 people to vote — but it hasn't been easy. 

"People don't think their vote matters," he says. "Most of us in here come from the same strata of the socio-economic status. We're kind of all victims of thinking that our vote didn't count as we grew up."

He says people are entitled to their political differences, even if some of the folks he's helping register to vote don't align with his world views. Pittman's priority is just educating the people around him on the importance of political engagement. 

"I was raised knowing that the political process is pretty important," he says. "If I want to influence the political system to be pro-me then I got to take part in it."

Laila Aziz is the Director of Operations for Pillars of the Community. She's one of the core people who works with the inside organizers on promoting civic engagement. She says they are trained to help people obtain their voter registration card, track who's getting ballots and on helping people inside fill out their ballots. 

Pillars has partnered with the League of Women Voters, a group that the Sheriff's Office has allowed to go inside the county jails to help register voters.

Both Pittman and Aziz say the Sheriff's Office has mostly responded well to the voting outreach efforts. 

Aziz says violence is going down in housing units where inside organizers are posted. 

"The fact that we're doing civic engagement in the jails, I believe, has made the jails more safe in those areas," she says. "It's also built more of a community in those areas where people feel like they're human beings, where people feel like they're a part of something. This is why we're so excited about this program." 

Aziz says only 20 people in San Diego County jails voted in the 2020 Presidential Election and they've worked to make sure that number has increased for the 2024 election. 

She says the inside organizers have helped roughly 230 people register to vote. It could be easier to vote, she says, if San Diego Sheriff's would implement an in-person voting center at the jails like Los Angeles County did in 2020. Roughly 2,200 incarcerated people voted in LA County jails in the previous election. 

Cook County in Illinois also implemented a jail-based polling place in 2020 and more than 2,000 of its 5,400 population voted that year. 

Cynthia Paz with the Registrar of Voters says voting while incarcerated doesn't look much different compared to people who aren't in San Diego jails. The majority of San Diego County voters use mail-in ballots, she says. 

Aziz says it's disenfranchising voters to not allow in-person voting. If incarcerated people miss the Oct. 21 deadline to register, they cannot head to an in-person polling place like someone who is free. It also prevents people arrested after Oct. 22 from voting, she says. 

The United States has a long history of voting disenfranchisement, or preventing people in particular communities from voting. Given this has historically happened to people of color and disabled people, among other groups, Aziz says jails are especially vulnerable to these practices. Disabled people with lower literacy rates also face voting challenges, she says.

She also pointed to national statistics that show roughly 40% of people incarcerated nationwide are disabled — and in San Diego, the Black population significantly outweighs the White population in county jails despite only making up 5% of the county demographics. 

"All of these disparities together, from disabilities to racial disparities, to how voting is even done in the jail, it all significantly decreases a person's chance to exercise their civil rights," Aziz says.

There's an African proverb, according to Aziz, that says a child who does not feel wanted by a community will burn it down to feel its embrace. Civic engagement is helping give members of the community a purpose. 

"Community building, even in the county jails, has reduced violence, reduced bullying," she says. "We're working on a peace-building platform in the jails. Community safety is important to us. These are our community members' sons, daughters, grandchildren, significant others. They're part of this community. Them knowing that and being connected to us, we've seen demonstrated positive effects."

The golden state is a little different than most. The right to vote is taken away forever in some states if you're convicted of a felony, but that's not the case in California. 

Felonies don't necessary prevent voting. Formerly incarcerated people who were convicted of a felony but have served their sentence are eligible to vote thanks to Prop 17 that passed in 2020. Those currently in jail and not serving a felony sentence can also vote.

You cannot vote in California if you're serving a felony sentence in a state or federal prison. 

You can vote in California if you or your loved one is: 

• On parole.
• On probation. 
• On post-release community supervision. 
• In county jail and have not been convicted of a felony.