Committee on Criminal Justice meeting
April 14, 2026, 10:30 AM
Jointly with the Committee on Governmental Operations, State & Federal Legislation
The Committee on Criminal Justice held a joint oversight hearing on voting access at Rikers Island and heard two related bills: Int 0786, which would set procedures for curing ballots cast by people in Department of Correction custody, and Int 0797, requiring a report on voter registration and voting in city jails. No votes were taken.
What was discussed
- Chair opens oversight of voting on Rikers Island Chairperson Gale A. Brewer opened the joint hearing, noting that over 80% of the ~7,000 people on Rikers are held pretrial and retain the right to vote but that very few manage to cast a ballot, and arguing the only real fix is in-person polling places; in the June 2024 primary only 72 of 155
- Criminal Justice Chair frames the barriers to in-custody voting Chairperson Selvena N. Brooks-Powers said eligible voters in custody face barriers around registration, ballot curing, information access, and ballot delivery, and that the two bills aim to improve transparency and coordination between the Department of Correction and the Board of Elections.
- Public Advocate on his reporting bill and the case for a polling place at Rikers Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said the effective disenfranchisement of a largely Black and brown jail population echoes Jim Crow, described his Int 0797 requiring annual reporting on jail voter registration, and backed Chair Brooks-Powers' Int 0786 on ballot curing, urging a polling site at
- Department of Correction testifies on its facilitative role and concerns about the curing bill Deputy Commissioner Nell Colón said DOC facilitates voting access through education, up to 16 registration drives a year, tablets, and hand-delivery of forms, but raised feasibility concerns about Int 0786 because ballot curing is administered by the Board of Elections and DOC does not receive cure
- Board of Elections testifies that absentee voting is the only lawful method Executive Director Michael J. Ryan testified that under state election law absentee voting is presently the only legally permissible way for people in custody to vote, that voters must remain registered in their home districts, and provided 2025 general election figures—621 ballots issued, 335
- How often do DOC, the Board of Elections, and the volunteer coalition actually meet, and is it productive? Deputy Commissioner Colón and Assistant Commissioner Greisokh told Chairperson Brewer that the Voting on Rikers Working Group meets monthly and that feedback has improved the civic-engagement curriculum; Executive Director Ryan acknowledged the Board missed meetings during the 2025 election cycle
- Out of thousands eligible, how do we raise the number of people who actually vote? Executive Director Ryan told Chairperson Brewer that of 621 ballots issued in 2025, 335 were counted—a 54% return rate versus 73% citywide—and said the Board will process whatever it receives but relies on DOC to identify voters; he stressed that even 3,000–5,000 additional ballots would not strain
- Is there technology to let a fluid jail population vote in person in their home districts? Executive Director Ryan told Chairperson Brewer that state law makes absentee voting the substitute for those who cannot reach a poll site and that a polling place would require setting up ballots by election and assembly district for a constantly changing population; he committed to
- Is a single DOC staffer responsible for all ballot delivery, and how are special elections handled? Deputy Commissioner Colón and Assistant Commissioner Greisokh told Chairperson Brooks-Powers that historically one civic-engagement staffer, backed by a larger counseling team, hand-delivers materials to the Board, and that for special elections DOC depends largely on the Board of Elections to flag
- Has every housing unit actually been visited for voter registration before each election? Deputy Commissioner Colón told Chairperson Brooks-Powers that 16 volunteer drives a year rotate one facility at a time, meaning a facility may only be reached about twice a year, and conceded that while DOC counseling staff reach most units quarterly, she could not say volunteers had visited every
- Could a nursing-home-style Board of Elections voting program work at Rikers? Executive Director Ryan explained to Chairperson Brooks-Powers that the Board sends bipartisan teams to qualifying nursing homes and that the main obstacle to a similar Rikers program is the island's many spread-out facilities; he said the borough-based jails, especially a single high-rise facility
- How could DOC implement ballot curing when it gets no deficiency notices? Council Member Frank Morano pressed on Int 0786's feasibility; Deputy Commissioner Colón said curing is a Board of Elections function under state law and would require conversations with the Law Department and state legislative changes, while Executive Director Ryan said the most effective path is a
- How long does a requested ballot take to reach a voter still in custody? Deputy Commissioner Colón told Council Member Tiffany L. Cabán that ballots are hand-delivered and could reach a voter the same day or within the week; Cabán pressed for faster turnaround given short jail stays and unstable addresses, and asked DOC to follow up on expediting delivery.
- Why is the absentee completion rate so much lower in DOC facilities than citywide? Council Member Mercedes Narcisse cited a roughly 63% citywide completion rate versus about 20% in DOC facilities; Deputy Commissioner Colón said she could not pinpoint the gap but that DOC is increasing access through weekly in-person engagement, and confirmed curing problems fall outside DOC's
- What is the most common reason Rikers ballots are rejected, and will the Board send staff? Executive Director Ryan told Chairperson Brewer the most common defect is a missing signature on the ballot envelope, which the state's cure process can fix, and committed to taking a hard look at sending Board staff to Rikers around upcoming elections and reporting back.
- Can DOC collect the demographic data the reporting bill requires by 2027? Council Member Yusef Salaam asked whether DOC could disaggregate data by race, age, gender identity, disability, and veteran status; Deputy Commissioner Colón said DOC does not currently collect demographics with voter forms but would work with the Council to provide the data, and Executive Director
- Vote in NYC Jails Coalition: the registration process doesn't work as described Victor Pate, a coalition member and formerly incarcerated person, walked through the drive process and said promised civic engagement rarely happens, signage announcing visits is often missing, and tablet voter information is largely unused—disputing claims that detainees have full ballot access.
- Brooklyn Defender Services on the two bills and a return to first principles Michael Klinger of Brooklyn Defender Services supported Int 0786's curing reporting and Int 0797's registration reporting—noting current reporting lets DOC count a form left in the law library the same as a volunteer visit—and urged greater data-sharing and pointed to the Sentencing Project's report
- Legal Aid Society: DOC offers no help and provides no data Takeasha Newton, lead volunteer coordinator for the coalition, testified that after six years of visits DOC staff do nothing to help, limit volunteers to 13 per van and one facility a month, reject her tracking documents, and that ballots tied to a departed staffer's name once blocked people from
- LatinoJustice: completed ballots discarded and single-digit turnout Robert Willis of LatinoJustice, also formerly incarcerated, said he saw completed voter forms and ballots thrown in the trash and cited year-over-year figures showing fewer than 10% of eligible voters cast ballots, urging multiple polling sites at Rikers and pointing to Harris County, Texas as a
Agenda
3 items
- T2026-1547 Oversight - Voting on Rikers. Hearing Held by Committee
- Int 0786-2026 A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to procedures for and reporting on curing ballots for voters in department of correction custody Hearing Held by Committee
- Int 0797-2026 A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring a report on voter registration and voting in city jails Hearing Held by Committee