SMITH COUNTY, Texas — The Tyler branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is making one final push to remind Smith County inmates of one important fact: you have a right to vote.
“I think it’s beneficial [for the inmates],” Lt. Elsa Green, a member of Smith County Jail administrative staff, said. “It allows for those who have not been convicted to have that opportunity to vote. It gives them the opportunity to voice their opinion as well, too.”
In this election cycle, the NAACP has already helped a little under 300 inmates to vote — over one-fourth of Smith County’s 1,069 current inmates.
“And we’re still getting requests from inmates rolling in,” Cedrick L. Granberry, Smith County NAACP President, said.
Since 2012, the NAACP has worked with both Smith County Jail administrators and the Smith County Elections Office to register some of the most underserved populations in the county. But this year added an extra and unexpected layer: the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Because of COVID, we’ve had to take a different approach,” Granberry said.
Six weeks before voter registration is due, the NAACP puts flyers in the more than 50 cells in the local jails, reminding people to register or request a ballot. This year, the pandemic forced them to change the way they register inmates to vote. Instead of checking each inmate’s registration individually, the NAACP gave each inmate a registration form and absentee ballot request.
“They’re in that process right now, where they’re receiving their ballots in the mail,” Granberry said. “From there, they could mail them or we were able to pick them up and take them to the elections administrator.”
However, the deadline is quickly approaching — inmates must request an absentee ballot by Oct. 23 or they will be unable to vote in this year’s general election.
“We’re in the 11th hour and the 59th minute and the 45th second, so it’s really close to midnight,” Granberry said. “But we’re going to everything we can till that last second.”
This confusion on whether or not inmates are eligible to vote is something the NAACP is dedicated to combating. Walking inmates through how they can exercise their rights has become a key part of the NAACP’s outreach, Granberry says.
“On a local level, [the NAACP is] non-partisan,” Granberry said. “That’s what we really enjoy, helping male, female, any ethnicity, as well as any party affiliation to be responsible for that inmate’s right as a citizen.”
But for Granberry, this campaign more than just civic duty, it's personal.
Since the 1980s, jail populations have skyrocketed across the country, with African-American men being disproportionately incarcerated compared to other ethnicities, he says.
“I’m a Black male," Granberry said. "My son is a Black male. My father is a Black male. My brothers were Black males. I’m not far removed from that being me, or my son, or anyone in my family. It’s an initiative that’s close to me because those who are incarcerated, I’m not sure if we had not taken this initiative, they would have been afforded this opportunity.”
Granberry asserts inmates may feel they’ve been “thrown away by society,” and by engaging them in elections, it could be a rehabilitation tool.
“Because even though you’re incarcerated, you’re able to affect the outcome of society as it responds to democracy and to our elections,” Granberry said.
Green also believes, for some inmates, engaging in elections can help an inmate find their place in society.
“It gives them an opportunity where they talk to others and they realize, ‘Is this the road that I want to take?’ or ‘Can I still voice my opinion in things that do matter in the world, even if I’m in jail?’,” Green said.
The NAACP is also offering free rides to the polls for all Smith County residents through early voting and on Election Day. You can schedule a ride by contacting their headquarters at 903-531-0071.
“I wish I could do more,” Granberry said. “But this is at least something I can do, that we can do as an organization, that can reach back and say, ‘Look, we care.’”
