League of Women Voters urges voter registration and reentry support; public defender plans jail book-drive

At the public-comment portion of the Jan. 18 meeting, Karen Noble of the League of Women Voters asked to reconnect with the jail and reentry council to provide voter-registration assistance for eligible inmates, to discuss restoration of rights and to promote 'ban the box' policies to improve post-release employment opportunities. Noble said the League recently registered one person and noted the local election office is nearby to accept forms.

Board members suggested a jail contact—Captain West was cited as the internal contact—and thanked Noble for the outreach. No formal action was taken during public comment.

Separately, a representative identified as Nick said the public defender's office is launching a countywide campaign to collect reading materials for inmates, emphasizing Spanish-language and foreign-language books and trade titles. He said the program would engage multiple community groups and that the jail is expected to accept donations around March or April; he said he would report back to the board in March on the program's progress.

Board members expressed appreciation for the civic engagement and asked staff to help coordinate logistics; no board vote was taken on the proposals.