Holding Massachusetts Accountable by Ensuring Jail Voting Protections Are Implemented (Hobbs v. Galvin)

In 2022, Massachusetts passed the VOTES Act, a wide-ranging bill improving protections and ballot access for voters across the state, including some of the nation’s strongest protections for voters in jail. Among its provisions, the VOTES Act requires the secretary of the commonwealth to publish reports after each statewide election detailing jail voting data, including how many people requested to vote and whether they were able to vote.

Many people in jails across the country remain eligible to vote while in local jails. In Massachusetts, the right to vote is only taken away while someone is serving time for a felony conviction. As such, individuals who are pre-trial or serving misdemeanors in county jails may be eligible, so long as they meet the other eligibility criteria.

However, the secretary has failed to publish the required reports even though two statewide elections have occurred since the law went into effect.

Campaign Legal Center, alongside Lawyers for Civil Rights and with pro bono support from Anderson & Kreiger and the Law Office of John Reinstein, represent six jail voting advocates in this mandamus-style action to enforce this provision.  

These mandated reports allow for critical monitoring of VOTES ACT implementation and ensure officials provide the required ballot access for those in jail. The public has a right to this information, and the law requires the secretary to provide the reports on a strict timetable.

Without this information, petitioners are impeded in their efforts to conduct oversight and advocate for necessary changes to ensure all eligible voters in jails can vote. Campaign Legal Center, our partners and our clients are asking the secretary to speedily compile a report to the Legislature with the required information about jail-based voting in the commonwealth.  

Our democracy works best when every voter can participate. Voters in jail are too often overlooked, ignored or cast aside simply because they are incarcerated. The secretary must comply with this mandate to increase transparency and ensure effective implementation of the VOTES Act so that every eligible voter in Massachusetts’ jails can have their voices heard at the ballot box.