Democracy & Justice

Protecting and Promoting the Right to Vote

We are working to make the promise of democracy real for people of color across New Jersey by working to expand access to the polls and restoring the right to vote to people with criminal convictions.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we must keep democracy accessible to all. We asked elected officials to do it through Vote-by-Mail.

Featured Work

REPORT - Value to the Soul: People With Criminal Convictions on the Power of the Vote

Read the Institute's new report profiling people denied the vote

A Matter of Democracy

Institute Associate Counsel and Debevoise Fellow Scott Novakowski writes for NJ Spotlight on why we must restore the right to vote to people with criminal convictions.

An Agenda for a New Democracy

New Jersey lawmakers have an opportunity to promote an inclusive democratic process that maximizes participation from all of its residents, says a new report released by the New Jersey Institute and the Brennan Center for Justice.

Protect Voter Information

The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice sends a letter to New Jersey’s top election officials telling them to reject the Commission on Election Integrity’s request for voter data.

REPORT - We Are 1844 No More: Let Us Vote

Today, nearly 175 years later, though legal slavery has been abolished and New Jersey no longer explicitly prohibits Black people from voting, New Jersey continues to deny voting rights to people with criminal convictions.

New Jersey Counts In 2020

A Census undercount could mean less political power and funding for essential programs and services for New Jersey.

Census Amicus Brief

The Institute files amicus brief with US Supreme Court against citizenship question on 2020 Census.

REPORT: Our Vote, Our Power

Read about the barriers to voting and the policies that will address them

Vote by Mail Prepaid Postage Letter

Click here to read the full letter

Get Involved

Contact the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice at justice@njisj.org to find out how you can get involved to help expand access to the voting booth for communities of color and restore the right to vote to those with criminal convictions.