Voting from Jail: Most can, few do.

In a race where a few hundred votes can make a difference, the majority of the 39,000 people held in Georgia county jails can vote, but as Atlanta News First Investigates uncovered, few do.
A lot of people in county jails never lost their right to vote because they’re not felons. They’re typically awaiting trial or serving misdemeanor sentences.
Still, voting from jail is rare. In Gwinnett County, only 16 out of 2,000 inmates voted this year, that’s less than one percent.
In the Fulton County Jail, 177 inmates registered to vote. That’s roughly six-and-a-half-percent of the jail’s 2,700 inmates.
At the Rockdale County Jail, zero inmates requested a ballot this year.
It’s something that most of us take for granted - but not Robert Schenck. Casting an absentee ballot was his first semblance of normalcy in months.
“It was a really good feeling,” Schenck said.
Schenck was sent to the Gwinnett County Jail four months ago, for violating probation related to a drug charge.
“You get told when to eat, told when to sleep, but now you get to say something about who wants to be in office, it actually feels good to do that,” he explained.
“Did you know that you’d be able to vote [in jail]?” Atlanta News First Investigator Rachel Polansky asked Schenck.
“I had no idea. I thought that was one of the rights that was taken from us,” Schenck responded.
Schenck didn’t think voting from jail was possible until he saw a message on a kiosk in his Gwinnett housing unit.
“I saw a note flash across the screen that said register to vote, and I asked a deputy for more information, and they provided all the information I needed to vote,” Schenck said.
“And, why is voting something that’s important to you?” Polansky asked.
“Because it has an immediate impact on me and my family and our environment around us,” Schenck said.
Unless an inmate is currently serving a sentence for a felony conviction, he or she can vote in Georgia.
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