Former prisoners who believed they could legally vote land back behind bars in Florida

Judy Woodruff:

Two-thirds of prisoners are re arrested and half reincarcerated within three years of their release. Addiction, poverty and a lack of housing all play a role.

But, as Amna Nawaz explains, in Florida, voting could be ultimately what lands some back behind bars.

It is part of our series Searching For Justice.

Amna Nawaz:

Miko Atkinson is no stranger to the hustle.

(LAUGHTER)

Miko Atkinson, Ex-Offender:

I have been an elementary school and having my parents buy a bag of lollipops, and I gave it to my bus driver to sell to everyone on her routes.

(LAUGHTER)

Amna Nawaz:

But that sweet start turned sour 15 years ago. Convicted of identity theft, Atkinson served two years in prison.

Miko Atkinson:

I wasn't really a bad person, maybe took a few turns the wrong way or in the wrong direction.

Amna Nawaz:

Now he's launching his own culinary business in Lauderhill, Florida, building on a lifetime of experience and a pilot program started by Vice Mayor Melissa Dunn.

Melissa Dunn, Vice Mayor of Lauderhill, Florida: So, what's new? What's going on with the business?

Amna Nawaz:

The aim, teach ex-offenders how to run their own companies, in the hopes of keeping them out of future trouble.

Melissa Dunn:

You're more likely to care for your neighbors if you feel connected to them. And when you're disconnected, when you're separated, I believe that puts you at risk and it puts the community at risk.

Amna Nawaz:

Income and housing offers stability, but to truly feel connected, Atkinson says he needed a voice, a vote.

Miko Atkinson:

When you go behind the wall, you're pretty much told that your future is done, that you will no longer be able to be a part of the future. It will take place without you. So to get those rights back and reclaim those rights and to actually have a state — or to actually have a mark or actually have an input in the future, I think that's amazing.

Amna Nawaz:

A 2018 constitutional change, Florida's Amendment 4, offered most felons in the state a chance to restore their voting rights. Over a million more Floridians could now potentially cast their ballots, but figuring out who was actually eligible turned out to be much more complicated.

Voting right restoration used to be on a case-by-case basis in Florida. But Amendment 4 streamline the process for anyone, excluding those convicted of sex crimes or homicide, who completed their sentence, an estimated 1.4 million people. The Florida legislature added more terms. All fees and fines must be paid off, bringing some eligibility estimates down to half-a-million. And they require voters to legally swear to their eligibility before the county and state recheck their status.

But there's no database or surefire way for those in reentry to know their debts are paid in full.

Speaker:

Why are they doing this to me? I didn't do nothing to nobody. Voter fraud? What is voter fraud?

Amna Nawaz:

Twenty arrests this August, what Florida Governor DeSantis called a fraud crackdown, laid bare the confusion and failures in the system.

Speaker:

I'm like, voter fraud? I voted, but I ain't commit no fraud.

Amna Nawaz:

All 20 of these voters received registration cards from their county, despite being ineligible due to the nature of their crimes.

Speaker:

When I got out, the guy told me that I was free and clear to go vote because I had done my time. I don't owe nobody nothing.

Amna Nawaz:

A Miami judge recently dismissed one of the cases on jurisdictional grounds. But back in August, DeSantis warned there could be more.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL):

So this is the opening salvo. This is not the sum total of 2020.

Christopher Uggen, University Of Minnesota:

And I think that this really has a chilling effect.

Amna Nawaz:

Chris Uggen is a professor in sociology, law and public affairs at the University of Minnesota. His research suggests people who vote are far less likely to be incarcerated again. But high-profile arrests are also likely to dissuade even those who can vote.

Christopher Uggen:

If somebody tells them that they have the right, they're going to be skeptical. And I think this is one of the reasons that observed turnout rates tend to be low, even when rights are restored, because people do fear prosecution, as I think any of us would.

Amna Nawaz:

Are you at all worried that you could end up incarcerated again?

Speaker:

Yes, I am worried for the fact that I voted in 2020.

Amna Nawaz:

This woman, who we're calling Colleen, spends her retirement years advocating for reform in the state's prison system. Formerly incarcerated herself, she applied to restore her voting rights under Amendment 4 and received this registration card in 2019.

She cast her ballot in 2020.

Speaker:

Walking into that, the polling place, was awesome, because I actually just, like, stood there when I first went and just breathed, like, I can do this. This is so good. I can do this.

Amna Nawaz:

Watching the governor announce the August arrests, Colleen says she felt compelled to double check her own records online and found outstanding fees the county clerk and state didn't catch.

If someone like you, who knows these systems, got it wrong, what does that mean for the rest of the population?

Speaker:

That is a very scary thought, because most people don't know how to navigate the system. I did. And I took the word of a clerk, rather than navigating it myself.

Amna Nawaz:

Days later, Colleen sat out the primary, even though the county sent her, still technically ineligible to vote, an updated voter registration card.

State Representative Blaise Ingoglia is a former chairman of the Florida GOP. He backed the legislature's addition of terms to Amendment 4 and the creation of the governor's election police force. We asked him if someone like Colleen should face prison time for voting in 2020.

State Rep. Blaise Ingoglia (R-FL):

You're saying that all of your rights have been restored, that everything has been paid, and they're testifying and they're attesting that it's a yes. So, in that instance, it's on the person who is filling out that information to have that information and know what the — what the correct answer is to that.

Having said that…

Amna Nawaz:

So, you believe that person should go back to prison?

State Rep. Blaise Ingoglia:

I think that we should be — we should really fix the system, so it becomes easier for them to get that information.

Amna Nawaz:

Colleen's story is not unique. In reporting this story, our team spoke with several offenders who applied to restore their rights, were issued voter registration cards and even voted. Only after speaking with us did they realize they might be ineligible.

Giovanni Sairras, Executive Director, Re-Entry One:

It seems like we're being not just locked up, but being locked out of mainstream society.

Amna Nawaz:

Giovanni Sairras finished a 17-year prison stay in May of 2020. He's devoted himself to helping the formerly incarcerated navigate reentry and working to restore his own right to vote.

As best as he can tell, there's about $1,400 in outstanding fines and fees still in his way.

Giovanni Sairras:

We work hard, like everybody else, and we have made mistakes like everyone else, and we do deserve a second chance. And a second chance should not come with a hefty poll tax.

Amna Nawaz:

He is determined to one day cast his first vote and urges other ex-offenders to fight for their right too.

Giovanni Sairras:

Don't give up. This is a — is an essential right.

Amna Nawaz:

With another election looming, Colleen Teeters between following her heart and the letter of the law.

Speaker:

As of right now today, I am very seriously considering voting in the election.

Amna Nawaz:

You would consider casting your ballot, even if it means you could end up back behind bars?

Speaker:

That's all big, brave Colleen saying that right now.

(LAUGHTER)

Speaker:

But, honestly, when the day comes, I don't know. My head will go back and forth with it. But the reality of being reincarnated scares me very much.

Amna Nawaz:

As our conversation ends, Colleen decides against taking that risk, but adding to her frustration, she says, is the flood of political mail she still receives urging her to vote.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Amna Nawaz in Miami, Florida.