Fabiola Martínez
La Jornada newspaper
Sunday, October 5, 2025, p. 7
Although prison people can obtain the credential issued by the National Electoral Institute (INE), the Institute faces different challenges to make this right effective, such as the refusal of some prison authorities, noting that prisons do not have security conditions, or the disinterest of prisoners to vote, according to reports of the INE
The most recent data show that in 2024 there were 236,773 people in prison in Mexico, of which 85,547 had not received a sentence.
Those sentenced can only receive their INE credential for identification purposes (in the register they appear with the clarification that they cannot exercise their electoral political rights, while those who are in process (still without established penalty) can be registered in the nominal list and vote.
This option, of suffrage of imprisoned people, emerged in 2021 at the request of a specific group, and since then progresses in a few experiences; For example, this population did not vote in the judicial election last June, and just in August the INE issued guidelines to give credentials to prison.
For the electoral process 2023-2024 (Federal and Local), the INE received 516 applications to issue credentials, as well as 163 orders of the Electoral Court of the Judicial Power of the Federation (TEPJF) for that same purpose.
Of these, 35 applications did not meet the requirements, so 481 micas were generated, of which the INE could not deliver 211 (the person obtained their freedom or is sentenced, among other causes) and still has 251 available.
The same happened with those issued by mandate of the TEPJF: of 163 procedures, in four cases there was no year, 136 were delivered, 16 did not meet the requirements, and 5 procedures were rejected.
Little personal in seclusion centers
Although the INE organizes for this sector of the population the choice in the “anticipated” mode (as occurs for people in prostration and Mexicans resident abroad), different problems persist:
Penitentiary authorities do not deliver the required information in time, in addition to the INE personnel must stick to small schedules (because the inmate movement occurs in few episodes such as food lapses, list passes and educational activities). The electoreal organ also reported that there is little personal in detention centers ..
