The Cook County Jail in Chicago is the first jail in the US to host in-person early voting in the general election, just as it was the first to do so in the primary earlier this year. This happened thanks to legislation passed in late 2019 that went into effect this spring. The bill establishes a polling place in county jails for counties with populations greater than 3 million people. Many people in jail don't even realize they are eligible to vote. Approximately 745,000 in local jails are able to vote but it is hard for these people to vote and there are many hoops to jump through. Cook County has reduced the number of hoops, including making voter registration easier. The bill, an effort to reduce voter suppression, took a few years to get passed. Programs like this exist across the US, but with visitation limited because of the Covid pandemic, advocates who normally are able to come in and educate incarcerated people about their voting rights have been barred from entry. In-person early voting in Cook County really helped to increase the number of voters, and there is hope that these efforts can be rolled out nationwide.
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