Explore Criminal Justice on the 2021 Ballot
Many prosecutors, sheriffs, governors, mayors, and other state and local officials will be elected in 2021, on the heels of a series of wins by candidates who ran on fighting mass incarceration in 2019 and 2020. These offices set the policies that shape the prison population, the criminal legal system, cooperation with ICE, and much more.
The Appeal: Political Report will report and analyze the stakes and debates around these often-overlooked but crucial elections throughout the year. You can explore our ongoing coverage below.
Our calendar of 2021 elections will give you the full list of counties electing their sheriffs and prosecutors this year. (Look ahead to what counties will have elections in 2022.)
June 2021: Manhattan, New York
How Manhattan’s DA Election May Rock the City’s Criminal Justice Status Quo
June 2021: Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk Elects a Prosecutor Who Says Crime Is a “Symptom of Structural Racism”
May 2021: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Wins for Larry Krasner and New Allies Signal Reformers’ Growing Reach
May 2021: Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh Voters May Ban Solitary Confinement in Jail Today
May 2021: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Battle for DA Is Testing Philadelphia’s Commitment to Reform
May 2021: Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
A Pittsburgh Judge Wants to Use the Bench to Fight Evictions and Mass Incarceration
May 2021: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philly’s Judge Elections This Month Have the Power to Change the City
May 2021: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia’s DA Candidates Debate ICE Cooperation Ahead of Election Day
April 2021: Manhattan, New York
This Manhattan Public Defender Has Fought the Manhattan DA’s office. Now She Wants to Lead it.
April 2021: Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
How Pittsburgh Activists Are Seizing a Chance to Reshape the Courts
April 2021: St. Louis, Missouri
This Anti-Violence Strategy May be Coming to St. Louis, but Activists See Red Flags
March 2021: Manhattan, New York
‘Life Sentences Are Death Sentences.’ How This DA Candidate Wants to Decarcerate Manhattan
Feb. 2021: Erie County, New York
BLM Activist Shakes Up Sheriff Election In County Known for Deadly Jails
Feb. 2021: Manhattan, New York
Manhattan D.A. Candidate Explains Why She’ll Stop Prosecuting Drug Offenses, Sex Work
