Council hearing spotlights persistent barriers to voting at Rikers Island

A joint New York City Council oversight hearing on April 16 examined why so few eligible people detained on Rikers Island are able to vote, as council chairs, agency officials and advocates traded sharply different accounts of how registration, ballot delivery and ballot curing work in practice.

Councilmember Gail Brewer, chair of the Committee on Governmental Operations, opened the hearing by noting that more than 80% of the roughly 6,700 people detained on Rikers are likely eligible to vote and that current procedures — which rely on absentee and early mail ballots — often prevent those people from exercising that right. "The physical forms must be delivered either through the postal system or by Department of Correction staff," Brewer said, and any error on the absentee envelope can lead the Board of Elections to reject a ballot.

Deputy Commissioner Nell Colon of the Department of Correction described DOC's role as facilitative: providing nonpartisan education, making voter registration and absentee forms available via staff, volunteers and tablets, and coordinating hand-delivery of completed forms to the Board of Elections. "We believe deeply that access to the democratic process is an important part of civic participation," Colon said, but she warned the council that DOC does not receive ballot-deficiency notices and lacks access to BOE systems, making it difficult for DOC to administer a formal ballot-curing process.

Michael Ryan, Executive Director of the New York City Board of Elections, emphasized statutory limits on alternatives to absentee voting. "The absentee ballot process is presently the only legally permissible method to provide access to the voter franchise for those in custody," he told the committees, and he urged state legislative changes before jail-based poll sites or other departures from current law could be implemented. Ryan also provided outcome numbers for recent elections: citywide the BOE issued 621 ballots to incarcerated voters in a recent general election and counted 335 of them.

Advocates and volunteers painted a starker picture. Jumaane Williams, the city's Public Advocate, said volunteers and legal-service groups regularly assist with registration but that the system systematically depresses participation and urged the council to consider on-site polling at Rikers. Volunteers described inconsistent signage, limited access to housing units during drives, and opaque handoffs when forms are turned over to DOC staff. One volunteer said, "The process is not as good as it sounds — a lot more needs to be done to improve this process." Several witnesses said they have observed forms or ballots lost or mishandled and urged stronger tracking, more staff resources and regular BOE presence at Rikers during elections.

Both agencies and advocates agreed the status quo produces low participation. BOE officials noted that absentee-return rates for incarcerated voters lag general absentee return rates, and DOC acknowledged operational hurdles: a fluid population, variable tablet access, and limited staff capacity. Advocates and voting-rights groups asked the council to support state legislation known as the Democracy During Detention Act that would require boards of elections, not correctional staff, to operate voting programs in local jails and to mandate more robust reporting and language-access services.

The hearing included two local bills under consideration: Intro 7-86, which would require DOC to work with BOE on procedures and reporting around ballot curing, and Intro 7-97, which would require annual reporting on voter registration and voting activity in city jails. DOC witnesses said they share the goal of improved access and transparency but warned that some provisions may require state-law changes and clarified that DOC currently provides some reporting and conducts regular drives and education in partnership with community groups.

Chairs Brewer and Brooks Powers closed by saying the council will continue oversight and pursue legislative and operational steps to raise incarcerated New Yorkers' access to the ballot.

The committees requested follow-up information from BOE and DOC on cure notices, delivery schedules and the feasibility of enhanced coordination; advocates asked for clearer public reporting and explicit commitments about volunteers' access and data-sharing going forward.