By — Ivette Feliciano Ivette Feliciano By — Zachary Green Zachary Green Leave a comment 0comments Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/formerly-convicted-florida-residents-sound-off-on-voter-disenfranchisement Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Formerly convicted Florida residents sound off on voter disenfranchisement Politics Oct 13, 2018 1:36 PM EDT On Nov. 6, more than six million Americans will be unable to vote because of a felony conviction on their records. More than a quarter of them live in Florida, where 1.6 million people—about ten percent of the state’s voting-age population—have been convicted of a felony. Florida is one of only three states that permanently bars people with felony convictions from voting. But all that may change this November, when Floridians will vote on Amendment 4, a ballot measure that would automatically restore voting rights to all felony offenders who have completed their sentences—except those convicted of murder or a sexual offense. Four Florida residents spoke with the NewsHour Weekend’s Ivette Feliciano about voting rights for felony offenders and how Florida’s current policy has affected them. Hear from them below and watch NewsHour Weekend tonight for the full report. Brett Ramsden, 36, justice initiatives director, Christian Coalition of Florida Ramsden, who struggled with drug addiction as a young adult and stole to support the habit, received his first of nine felony convictions in 2003 at age 21. He is now sober and lives with his wife and one-year-old daughter in Sarasota, Florida. Coral Nichols, 40, vice president, Empowered to Change Nichols, who experienced emotional and physical abuse as a child, was convicted of embezzlement in 2005 and spent more than four years inside Lowell Annex and Hillsborough Correctional Institutions. She was released in 2009 and is now in her final year of probation. Nichols co-founded Empowered to Change, a social work and counseling organization based in Seminole, Florida, in 2014. Demetrius Jifunza, 41, paralegal At age 17, Jifunza was sentenced to almost four years in prison and two years of probation for armed robbery. At 41, he’s now married with three children and works as a paralegal in Sarasota, Florida. He’s also a pastor at Mt. Olive Christian Methodist Episcopal Church and is working on his master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling at Argosy University. Neil Volz, 48, political director, Florida Rights Restoration Coalition Volz, a former Republican political staffer and lobbyist, pleaded guilty in 2006 to conspiracy in a congressional bribery case. He is now political director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, which advocates for and consists of people with felony convictions who refer to themselves as “returning citizens.” We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Ivette Feliciano Ivette Feliciano Ivette Feliciano shoots, produces and reports on camera for PBS NewsHour Weekend. Before starting with NewsHour in 2013, she worked as a one-person-band correspondent for the News 12 Networks, where she won a New York Press Club Award for her coverage of Super Storm Sandy, which ravaged the East Coast in 2012. Prior to that, Ivette was the Associate Producer of Latin American news for Worldfocus, a nationally televised, daily international news show seen on Public Television. While at Worldfocus, Ivette served as the show’s Field Producer and Reporter for Latin America, covering special reports on the Mexican drug war as well as a 5-part series out of Bolivia, which included an interview with President Evo Morales. In 2010, she co-produced a documentary series on New York’s baseball history that aired on Channel Thirteen. Ivette holds a Master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where she specialized in broadcast journalism. @IvetteF_News By — Zachary Green Zachary Green Zachary Green began working in online and broadcast news in 2009. Since then he has produced stories all over the U.S. and overseas in Ireland and Haiti. In his time at NewsHour, he has reported on a wide variety of topics, including climate change, immigration, voting rights, and the arts. He also produced a series on guaranteed income programs in the U.S. and won a 2015 National Headliner Award in business and consumer reporting for his report on digital estate planning. Prior to joining Newshour, Zachary was an Associate Producer for Need to Know on PBS, during which he assisted in producing stories on gun violence and healthcare, among others. He also provided narration for the award-winning online documentary series, “Retro Report”. @ZachGreen_News
On Nov. 6, more than six million Americans will be unable to vote because of a felony conviction on their records. More than a quarter of them live in Florida, where 1.6 million people—about ten percent of the state’s voting-age population—have been convicted of a felony. Florida is one of only three states that permanently bars people with felony convictions from voting. But all that may change this November, when Floridians will vote on Amendment 4, a ballot measure that would automatically restore voting rights to all felony offenders who have completed their sentences—except those convicted of murder or a sexual offense. Four Florida residents spoke with the NewsHour Weekend’s Ivette Feliciano about voting rights for felony offenders and how Florida’s current policy has affected them. Hear from them below and watch NewsHour Weekend tonight for the full report. Brett Ramsden, 36, justice initiatives director, Christian Coalition of Florida Ramsden, who struggled with drug addiction as a young adult and stole to support the habit, received his first of nine felony convictions in 2003 at age 21. He is now sober and lives with his wife and one-year-old daughter in Sarasota, Florida. Coral Nichols, 40, vice president, Empowered to Change Nichols, who experienced emotional and physical abuse as a child, was convicted of embezzlement in 2005 and spent more than four years inside Lowell Annex and Hillsborough Correctional Institutions. She was released in 2009 and is now in her final year of probation. Nichols co-founded Empowered to Change, a social work and counseling organization based in Seminole, Florida, in 2014. Demetrius Jifunza, 41, paralegal At age 17, Jifunza was sentenced to almost four years in prison and two years of probation for armed robbery. At 41, he’s now married with three children and works as a paralegal in Sarasota, Florida. He’s also a pastor at Mt. Olive Christian Methodist Episcopal Church and is working on his master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling at Argosy University. Neil Volz, 48, political director, Florida Rights Restoration Coalition Volz, a former Republican political staffer and lobbyist, pleaded guilty in 2006 to conspiracy in a congressional bribery case. He is now political director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, which advocates for and consists of people with felony convictions who refer to themselves as “returning citizens.” We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now