Jail-Based Voting (JBV) Ambassadors are registered voters and incarcerated leaders who participate regularly in civic education programs organized by nonpartisan volunteers with the Empowering Descendant Communities to Unlock Democracy (EDC) project. JBV Ambassadors practice community leadership through social justice storytelling and by advocating for voter protections and universal voting rights. Even while volunteers are away, they do the work of motivating others in their orbit to learn about politics and civic power, in addition to exercising their right to vote every election cycle.

Reflection Circles for Reimagining Democracy create a unique learning environment where JBV Ambassadors and voting rights volunteers come together to share, study, and strategize. During circle, we read about how civics works, write about our visions for social change, and discuss current events and political challenges directly affecting our communities. Circle is where we make sense of complex realities in US democracy and talk through strategies of everyday resistance, collective resilience, and civic empowerment in our immediate future (Sign The Universal Voting Rights Restoration Pledge) and for future generations. Together, we reflect on personal stories and envision transformative paths toward true justice for all of us—listening deeply to learn from one another’s experiences.