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       The library on the fifth floor of the Correctional Treatment Facility in Southeast Washington is not known as a polling place. But on Thursday, inmates, officials and advocates came together for a rare event: a special election in which the only people running were incarcerated.

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       In the library, ballot boxes were out. Candidates were making their cases. And inmates wearing orange or yellow jail uniforms were scrutinizing pink ballots, marking their selections with flexible plastic pens that, if smuggled out, would not present a security risk.

       The election, officials said late Thursday, resulted in a female inmate being elected to represent fellow prisoners for the first time. Shameka Hayes, inmate number 380612, was the candidate who triumphed — the only woman among 11 candidates on the ballot in a facility where men are the vast majority.

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       The seat up for grabs was advisory neighborhood commissioner — one of more than 300 local elected officials in the District who typically serve a few blocks’ worth of residents. D.C. jail’s ANC commissioner has the same job: Hayes will represent single-member district 7F08, which has a constituency of nearly 1,700 incarcerated people — but just 100 women.

       The seat opened up this summer after Leonard Bishop, the previous commissioner who has served decades in prison after being convicted of murder, was transferred to the Bureau of Prisons. Like Bishop, Hayes will work out of a dedicated office at the jail and attend virtual meetings with other, non-incarcerated commissioners, officials said.

       There are no shortage of problems to address. The Correctional Treatment Facility is part of the D.C. jail — a sprawling campus on the banks of the Anacostia River historically associated with poor conditions, including allegations of overcrowding, rodents, poor ventilation, flawed covid response and suicide among inmates.

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       Reporters were admitted to the jail to observe the election under strict conditions. No interviews with or photographs of inmates who had not signed a media release were permitted. Media was escorted by corrections officials at all times. And no journalist was permitted to set foot in the Central Detention Facility — the 47-year-old part of D.C. jail that has often been the center of litigation and advocate criticism.

       Ahead of voting, Hayes, who said she is awaiting trial in a drug case, sat for interviews in a yellow uniform.

       Conditions at D.C. jail should be improved, she said. Inmates need better food, more education and programming opportunities, and better health care. In her housing area, there are four showers for 40 women, according to Hayes, and just two are operational. The Department of Corrections didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about Hayes’s statement about jail conditions.

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       There are a lot of popular misconceptions about inmates, Hayes said. Like her, many at D.C. jail are awaiting some kind of decision in a court proceeding. Many are not even convicted criminals, she said.

       “Most people need to know — we’re all human,” she said.

       But Hayes, who won with 25 votes of around 100 votes cast, wasn’t just concerned about inmates. Another issue: parking for correctional officers.

       “When they’re unhappy, we’re unhappy,” Hayes said. “Their stress is redirected at inmates.”

       Keith F. Edwards was another candidate on the ballot. Like Hayes, he cited a desire to improve conditions at the jail as motivation for running. He also thought that inmates released from D.C. jail are better positioned to help returning citizens and troubled youth than other policymakers.

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       “I’m incarcerated with these people,” he said. “I know what direction we should go in.”

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       Angie Whitehurst, a volunteer with the League of Women Voters, was on hand to observe the election. The League had worked to register inmates to vote, successfully signing up more than a hundred, according to officials. Now, their efforts were coming to fruition.

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       Registering incarcerated voters was in line with the League’s historic mission of expanding suffrage, according to Whitehurst. Too often, individuals are pessimistic about their ability to make change amid government bureaucracy, she said.

       “Activities like this serve to encourage people,” she said. “They know what they need and want.”

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       In a statement, the Department of Corrections said D.C. jail residents interested in running for ANC have to have lived in the district for 60 days and must submit an interest form, among other requirements. Though a felony conviction can disqualify ANC candidates elsewhere, this requirement does not apply to those running from D.C. jail.

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       Individuals do not face retribution for complaining about conditions, according to the statement. In a separate statement, Department of Corrections Director Thomas Faust congratulated Hayes.

       “Ms. Hayes is also making history as the first female DCDOC resident to assume this position,” the statement said. “We look forward to collaborating with Commissioner Hayes in her new role and working together to serve and support those in our custody.”

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       Once the candidates are declared, they issue statements about their campaign based on prompts from corrections officials. (The department declined to release these statements to The Washington Post.) Then, voting begins.

       “The DOC then works to ensure every eligible DOC resident that wishes to vote can — either by visiting a designated voting area within the facility, or in some circumstances, having a ballot brought to them,” the statement said.

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       Kent C. Boese, executive Director of the Office of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, said in an email that the Department of Corrections “was an excellent partner and went above and beyond to ensure that this election was a success.”

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       The jail is not a place for long-term placement, Boese said. Even when an inmate elected commissioner cannot complete the two-year term, the elections are important.

       “The mid-term vacancy filling yesterday proved that we have supports in place to ensure that residents at the [Central Detention Facility] are able to participate in the democratic process — including service on their Advisory Neighborhood Commission,” he said.

       Hayes wasn’t sure how long she would be in office. If she’s found not guilty or makes a plea, she could be released before her ANC term ends. Indeed, the D.C. jail ANC commissioner before Bishop also had to vacate his seat — when he was released.

       “As long as I’m here, I’m going to fight for as long as I can,” Hayes said.

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