The Incarcerated Citizens Voting Initiative (ICVI) seeks to ensure that the constitutional voting rights of incarcerated citizens of America are protected and accessible in county, state, and federal prison systems. We aim to make sure incarcerated citizens have access to voter education, information, registration, and voting ballots. 

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We seek to make sure that America has universal suffrage for ALL its citizens, including those behind bars by eliminating felony disenfranchising laws. 

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We aim to accomplish this through getting incarcerated citizens out to vote, lobbying the legislature, advocacy, public education, direct actions, and legal action. 

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Currently, ICVI mission is to provide Incarcerated Citizens throughout Pennsylvania's 67 Counties access to voter    education, voter registration, absentee ballots, polling stations, and election protection for the 37,000 Incarcerated Citizens detained statewide in Pennsylvania County Jail systems and the 7,000 Incarcerated Citizens detained in the Philadelphia County Jail system.

 

ICVI seek to organize the Formerly Incarcerated People in the state of Pennsylvania, and the Philadelphia area particularly, into a Formerly Incarcerated Citizens Union to protect formerly incarcerated people from discriminatory laws, policy, and practice within the government and public sectors.

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ICVI seek to abolish Pennsylvania's felony disenfranchising election laws that denies Incarcerated Citizens their constitutional right to vote in elections while they are serving a prison sentence for a felony conviction. ICVI is currently seeking to enact HB 2718 and HB 2719 to permit all Incarcerated People to vote by absentee ballot and to establish a Uniform Voting policy in all Correctional Facilities in Pennsylvania, respectively.

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HRC's initiative, ICVI, is in a national coalition with EP Jail & Post-Release Voting Joint Committee; in a statewide coalition with the Allegheny County Jail Coalition; and in a Philadelphia county coalition with the Philly Jail Voting Coalition, consisting of coalition partners PennFranchise Project, Free The Ballot, Abolitionist Law Center, All Votes Is Local, Incarcerated Voter Family Network, Prison Society, Black Votes Matter, NAACP, Committee of Seventy, Women League of Voters, ACLU, Healing Communities PA, Urban League, Straight Ahead, Amistad Law Project, and Black Votes Matter.

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