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Elections officials, sheriff’s office outline inmate voting program and AB 544 pilot; county estimates $400,000 if funded
Summary
San Mateo County elections staff and the sheriff’s office described current inmate registration and vote‑by‑mail operations, new outreach partnerships and the state AB 544 pilot that would fund in‑jail, in‑person voting if the legislature and governor fund the program.
San Mateo County elections officials and sheriff’s office staff briefed the Independent Civilian Advisory Commission on existing inmate‑voting procedures, new outreach partnerships and the state pilot program AB 544 that would expand in‑person voting in jails if funded.
Assistant Chief Elections Officer Jim Irizarry said San Mateo has been an early adopter of the California Voter’s Choice Act model — mail ballots to all registered voters plus a network of vote centers — and described voter‑access services for people in county jails. “We send a ballot to every registered voter in the county and we open vote centers for in‑person services,” Irizarry said. He noted the county plans 49 vote centers and about 62 drop boxes for the upcoming presidential election and said there are roughly 435,000 registered voters countywide.
Current jail voting program: Irizarry and sheriff’s office staff described a long‑running collaboration in which the sheriff designates a jail coordinator to receive voter materials, distribute registration and ballot packets in English, Spanish, Tagalog and Chinese, and return completed ballots to the elections office. The sheriff’s speaker said the county pushes information on electronic tablets inside facilities, coordinates weekly updates with elections staff and physically safeguards and forwards ballots either by mail or direct delivery to the elections office.
Recent outreach and participation: Elections staff said 70 incarcerated people registered to vote during the June election cycle; community groups, including the League of Women Voters and San Francisco Peninsula People Power, said they will conduct voter‑education visits inside county facilities in coming weeks. Community advocates urged use of trusted messengers — people with lived experience — to encourage registration and turnout.
AB 544 pilot: Irizarry summarized AB 544, a state pilot to fund in‑person voting inside county jails. The bill had passed the Assembly and awaited Senate and gubernatorial action at the time of the meeting; funding also must be allocated in the 2025 state budget. If enacted and funded as proposed, Secretary of State documents and the county’s estimate indicate roughly $900,000 in statewide grant funds split among participating counties; San Mateo’s share was estimated at about $400,000 to cover in‑person voting logistics at two county jail facilities and program evaluation and reporting.
Concerns and next steps: Commissioners and advocates asked for better turnout metrics — number registered versus number who actually voted — and expressed concern about low historical turnout figures for incarcerated voters (public commenters cited as few as 9 to 28 ballots cast in prior local elections). Elections staff agreed to provide turnout counts for the jail population following the meeting. Staff said the AB 544 pilot would, if funded, require counties to provide a minimum eight hours of in‑person voting access in jail facilities during elections, and to report program data to the Secretary of State.
Ending: Elections and sheriff’s staff described current vote‑by‑mail operations for incarcerated people and new outreach partnerships while noting AB 544 remains conditional on state funding; staff agreed to return with more granular data on registered incarcerated voters and actual ballots cast.
