Our Values, Our Voice, Our Vote

People who are incarcerated don’t have the right to vote in New York State. Their family and friends, along with formerly incarcerated people themselves, are also less likely to vote or engage in activities like community organizing. It can feel like one vote doesn’t matter, or be hard to know which elected officials support issues that matter to them. The result is a lack of representation of communities impacted by mass incarceration and the issues they care about.

Alliance of Families for Justice collaborated with CUP and designers Karl Orozco and Tahnee Pantig to create a fold-out poster in English and Spanish. The guide breaks down who the decision-makers at different levels of government are, and shares other civic engagement strategies, like voting and community organizing.

The guide illustrates how family members of people who are incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people can have an impact on legal system reform and ultimately end mass incarceration through voting and other forms of civic engagement. With this information, those most affected by mass incarceration will be able to play a more active role in determining policies that affect them and their loved ones.

Alliance of Families for Justice is distributing the guide to tens of thousands of people in New York State, including directly impacted family members visiting their loved ones in prisons upstate, local community-based organizations, and elected officials.

Special Thanks

Leigh Taylor, Clair Beltran, Christine Gaspar, María Nóbrega, Eddie Rosario, Barbara, Marilyn Terrero, Ashley Terrero, Daleton Gilmer, Daryus Meohammed, TJ Nelson, and everyone else who provided feedback on the project

Product Details

8 × 11 color pamphlet; unfolds to 22″ × 32″ poster

Funding Support

Support for this project was provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.