Here a #ProjectOrange volunteer sits with a Harris County Jail inmate.
The Harris County Jail is huge.
With a capacity over 10,000 it’s likely larger than some small towns, yet according to reports many of the people inside haven’t been convicted of a crime yet. Due to our backwards bail reform system, many sit in jail for non-violent offenses like missing a court date for a speeding ticket that turned into a warrant for their arrest.
According to the law, anyone can vote if you’re a US Citizen, over the age of 18, and not currently serving time (incarceration, parole, probation), so what happens to those who are in jail, but only for pretrial detention, or for some simple infraction?
I wondered this too, so I did something about it.
Two years ago I sat in front of my laptop typing away at a proposal to send to our Sheriff outlining my plan to bring volunteers behind bars to eligible inmates to vote at the County Jail. In the back of my head I called it #ProjectOrange. It was going to be a pun on the popular series "Orange is the New Black," and the fact that inmates where orange jumpsuits at the Harris County Jail.
Sounds crazy, eh?
Well, I spent 5 years at Texas prisons starting as a guard, then eventually rising to the rank of Lieutenant before leaving to do what I do now. In those 5 years I didn't realize I'd be gaining experience that would not only inspire my later work, but would make me an expert when it comes to security. Ask anyone that used to work at a prison, especially rank, and they'll tell you it's like riding a bike... you never forget.
Anyway, I used the prison guard side of my brain to lay out how this would work, how security would be maintained, and how there wouldn't be any liability on the county. Further, I pointed out how many people were behind bars, but not yet convicted of a crime. I reached out on here, Twitter, and my email list to round up folks that wanted to help make it a reality.
After a few meetings with the Sheriff's top brass, folks at the County Clerk's office, and staff at the County Tax Assessor's office, this was going to happen. We did it!
To date, we've registered 2,440 new voters, and 696 ballot by mail requests with our might volunteer force. We hosted trainings with the county to train new registrars that felt like kickbacks to increase the number of registrars who look like me, or come from neighborhoods like South Park where. grew up.
As an organizer, it's always my goal to build leadership in those around me. I was taught that if I was doing my job right, I'd be working myself out of a job since those around me would fill in and lead the way.
Whenever I've started an initiative, it's always been my goal to hand it off to someone else to run so I could go on to the next thing. That's the way I could expand my capacity and go on to the next thing. I've never been one to be intimidated by someone else coming along and doing a better job. In fact, I hope for it. Ever since our first round of #ProjectOrange, that person has been Tina Kingshill, and she's doing a PHENOMENAL job coordinating our mighty volunteer force.
It's always been my goal to do two things:
1. Have the county implement necessary changes in their inmate orientation process and exit-interview process that included voter registration and education, including how the ballot by mail process works.
2. Take our work statewide so that those temporarily incarcerated in jails across our state would have access to the ballot.
Well, today we're meeting with Sheriff Gonzalez and County Commissioner Adrian Garcia today to layout a proposal pulled together over time coordinating with the awesome and resourceful folks at Campaign Legal Center in Washington DC and DEMOS in New York that would do just that. Those not convicted of a crime, and eligible to vote, should be able to. After today's meeting we'll be reaching out to other non-partisan orgs to help move this forward.
Next week, we're chatting with the executive director of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards to layout what we do and how we recommend statewide implementation would flow. I wouldn't mind hopping on a plane to do workshops for Jail Administrators and County Electeds across the state.
I'm sharing this long ass post for two reasons:
1. I want to reiterated, as much and as often as possible, how something I hated (working at the prison) ended up being one of the most rewarding, necessary experiences of. my life. That which may seem exhausting and pointless at the moment might just be part of YOUR process. Who would I be without my prison stories LOL.
2. There's a crazy idea in your head... probably crazier than taking people inside a jail to register voters... go after it. It's only crazy until it's done.
Commit to talk less and DO more.
Concentrate on actions that move the meter.
Everything else is fodder.
...And your time is worth more than fodder.
Onward.
Durrel Douglas, Founder
Houston Justice