Women in Denver County Jail share mixed emotions as they register to vote
share
DENVER — Diana won’t let the maroon jumpsuit and locked cell door at the Denver County Jail stop her from casting a ballot in the 2024 presidential election.
“I want to make sure my voice gets heard,” said Diana, a 19-year-old incarcerated woman.
Since 2016, Denver Elections Division staff have visited the county’s two jails every month in order to register folks in custody to vote.
The Denver Elections Division submitted 136 ballots from county jails in 2020, and 134 ballots in 2023. So far, in 2024, the jail has registered 261 people to vote in both Denver jails. As of Sept 4, Denver jails had 632 people in custody at the Denver County Jail and 1,219 people in custody at the Van Cise-Simonet Detention Center, also called the Downtown Detention Center.
The Colorado Legislature followed Denver’s lead and passed a bill in 2024 mandating in-person voting for eligible voters at every county jail in the state.
“Everyone has their civic duty and responsibility, and I think it's our duty to support them in that civic responsibility,” said Denver Sheriff’s Major Kelly Bruning, the operations manager at the Denver County Jail.
“It’s an important part of being an American. It’s your right to vote in our democracy.”
Though she had not made up her mind on which presidential candidate to bubble in, Diana said she plans to vote for whichever candidate will work harder to regulate fentanyl and get it off the streets. She hit her one-year sobriety mark in August and wants to keep fentanyl away from other young people.
“Since blue [fentanyl] has been a problem, it's been horrible out here and I think that's something that really needs to be addressed because our younger crowd is just going to keep dying off of this stuff if we don’t do something, and I'm not OK with that,” Diana said.
In Colorado, people serving sentences for misdemeanors and those previously convicted of felonies can vote. Coloradans currently serving sentences for felonies cannot vote, but are able to cast a ballot once they have served their sentence.
Kyle Giddings, the civic engagement coordinator with the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, said much of his role involves informing people in custody of their rights.
“I can’t tell you how many times we run into folks who are in their 30s, 40s and 50s who’ve never voted before because they didn’t think they had the right to vote because of an old felony conviction they got in their 20s,” Giddings said. A 2019 Colorado law restored the right to vote for people convicted of felonies.
People in custody shared mixed responses as Giddings and representatives from the Denver Elections Division and Colorado League of Women Voters explained the voter registration process at an August drive.
Although several shouted “thank yous,” laughter rippled through the crowd after one woman yelled “who cares?”
“This is a campaign to let people know that even if you’re in a facility like this, you still have the same rights,” said Ben Warwick, the marketing and communications specialist for the Denver clerk and recorder. “If you’re able to cast a ballot, then you’re eligible to cast a ballot.”
Jaida, a 27-year-old woman in custody who has an 8-year-old son, said she plans to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris in November because she hopes a female president would be more supportive of mothers.
“I think we need to try a woman. I want to try to see where she would take us,” Jaida said. “I feel like she would help us mothers on the inside.”
Others said they would vote for whoever would provide more mental health support to those in the criminal justice system.
“There is nobody in Denver, or in any jail, that gets the help that they think they deserve and they need,” said Gillian, a 25-year-old incarcerated woman.
“I also don’t think the government does as much for us minorities and people who didn’t grow up wealthy as they could be doing.”
As of Aug. 13, Gillian had not yet heard that President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and had endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who accepted the Democratic nomination for president.
She said her most concerning issue was to “make America great again,” but did not believe the phrase — former President Donald Trump’s slogan — should be exclusive to his campaign.
“I just want whoever is going to support everyone in this country,” Gillian said. “Not just some people.”