we n all these states to come together. and, this is not something that should divide us. this is something we can respectfully talk to one another about. wets. we can disagree onmatend when id happen. but we should not be disagre pe. on nowhoever wins. and making sure that we count every lel . principles we have adhered to for 250 years, and we should be working today to make sure they go on for■5 congressmm roemer and zach wam one's nation election integrity. sue5 one.org is where you can find their work. thanks for your timehimorning. ♪ shortly we'll have

live coverage from chesapeake, virginia, presumptive republican presidential nominee, former president donald trump, will make his first public appearance following the cnn presidential debateatla■nt watcn the former president arrives he c-span. >> in july of 2020 i found out about something that was weird going on in florida. basically the people of florida had passed ballot initiative that was supposed to restore voting rights with past felony convictions. that's 1.7 millioneopl 10% of the state's voting age population. out there's a

complicated legal back story t. why? because theywe fines and fees associated with their con conviction. it turns out that not only did it owe weren't being told how much they owed. o 35eu back the fines and fees you owe. we system. we have 67 different counties. erne differently. sorry, you can't vote unless you pay them off. we can't tell you what that is. if you make a mistake and you and you owe the money, you might be prosecuted for a new felony that really troubled me that background people should know how much they owe. thing.eems to me so i got together a lot of my ge i'm a professor. my law students, my ph.d. students, some volunteers we

started pulling data. we pulled data about a half million individuals across the state of florida writing customized computer programs called web date from a whole host of sources to identify tens of tusands of people who actually owed nothing but didn't realize theeden we partnered wie campaign legal center to send to vote even though you think you can't do so. in addition, we raised money to pay off fines and fees for people who owed dollar amounts so they could reenfranchise them and vote as a researcher, i can measure the impactreased voter turnout by up to 26% among florida. that's our it started. it w a project that troubled me what was going on. the problems in florida are throughout the nation.

in arizona and georgia. i wish we could talk more. where there are complicated voting laws that are disenfranchising hundreds ofual. host: just so we get everyone of crimes constitute a felony nvicon? what are the typical sentences. guest: felony conviction can be -- very wide range of things. basically if you end up in prison for one year or longer or potentially that's a felony conviction. for example,r prent trump, that is a felony conviction. he probably will not receive a . hunter bidenat these are disenfranchising ica some felonies are very serious.r murder. some might be not as serious. but allf th can be disenfranchising. depends on the state

host: you talked about florida as an exa the country. why is this set up keha why is it causing so much confusion? guest: states ra control the qualifications of people who can vote. and they control this in terms of felony disenfranchisement. a lot of these laws were passed during9r following the civil war. if you look at the lit's clear e passed to disenfranchise emancipated black voters. over time that's changed. the h changed. some have been opened up to let more people vote. but it's a patchwork of laws. it's very complicated to figure out whether you can vote in a number of states. host: how many americans areimp?

talk a little bit about thex thn gr impacted. guest: estimates are it's up to five milli americans are affected. so there are hundreds of thousands of individuals, for example, potentially in arizona alone who we identified. in georgia, iny8 number of states across the country where this the demographics are -- th are disproportionately, though not predominantly, people of color. particularly black individuals. usually male because most people convicted of crimes, felonies, . that's kind of the rough break . host: for people watching at home who maybe don't record, explain why this is an important issue. why should people be conrn pridn

being a democracy on being a where people have a voice in what en government. and faith in democratic now. when you have a system in which peopleote -- one thing i want to emphasize is millionsf to vote. that they can't actually figure that out for themselves. they can't votth when you have a system like that, that undermines democracy it's something that we should all care about because we should all care about a fair system in which everyone who is eligible to vote has the ability to thinc thing that we can all hopefully host: we are t■yith neal, the director and co-founder off. an organization helping to restoreothtto

convicted felons. the lines, republicans,or 20 democrats, 202-748-8000. independents, 202-748-8002. people with felony convictions there is a line for you, 202-748-8003. bit about the faies so much by state. let's take a look at what some differences are when somebody is for a felony. 10 states, felons lose their voting rights indefinitely for some crimes or would require a governor's be restored, period after completion of a sentence, including pa n addictional -- additional actions before restored.

15 states felon lose their voting rights during incarceration and for a period of time after, typically while on parole and probation. voting rights are automatically restored after this time. former felons may also have to pay anyines, fees, or restitution before their righ 23 states, felons lose their voting rights only while incarcerated and receive automatic restoration upon■á the district of columbia. felons never lose their right to vote, even when incarcerated. you talked a little bit about -- the challengespeople face once they are out of prison and trying to are -- what they qualify for. howes actually notify somebody of the status right off the bat? guest: i'm not sure of the exact number. that sort of is a movin changinr

laws as we speak. for example, iowa and washington state changedheir laws around 202020 or so -- 2020 or so. washington, for example, notified some ilsf u are being released. these systems are not lik■e, robust. in some states there is other states that's note there. it's not something that states picking up. and being very clear about. to be fair, because the law is so complicated in a lot of thes. you read that whole list of as i was listening, and i'm familiar, it was overwhelming. there are so many difntva fees. two different things. you can get into the detail ofa. something called rest tie constitution. these are different forms of money that's are

in some states, once you aret. released from prison you other states you have to be off of probation and parole. statesn can be extended if you owe rconnected. in some states you have to your rights restored. so this crazy patchwork of laws. on top of that, it's sort after craze yea patchwork of data. af is not just at the state level that. understates the problem. it's at the county level. counties in the united states hf your conviction. if you wanted toersometimes hava county level. counti vy greatly in the availability of data and what they are providing individuals. they may say go look online to check your status. you go there, there is nothing.

it's a complex area that's why free our vote has our specialties are in law and data. we canelins figure out what their eligibility is. in an ideal world, this would be something that the government whoever would sort of take care of. if we had a simpler system it wouldn't be an issue.talked abot that it could be difficult for somebody to getr tta back. how long does it typically take they have to kind of figure out who to go to. d to do to ge an average time for how long it could take? guest: again, i wish i could give a straight answer. it's complicated. some states automatic. for example, in new york state,m

prison, you automatically get your voting rightsac thing in p. inions, however, you have to potentially have your in arizona, i apologize to thee, this is what tawd illustrates how complex it is. in arizona if you have one convn get youroj end. if you have more than one, you have to petition unless some of your convictions are for an automatic expungement law which res conviction amount. if you owe fines and fees that can be disqualifying depending on the circumstances. that is the proem right there. it's not a set answer. once youurout at's going on, if there is a process to move forward it can be quick.h7 that varies.

host: we are talking with neal, the co-founder and director of free our vote. let's start calls. we'll talk to mike in new jersey, on the independent line, good morning. caller: good morning. thanks neal, want to say first all i think you are a convicted felon you vote once you serve your time. my question fou that you see a difference in each state r rights, is it related to the political parties th state? just want to say infowars.com, free alex jones. guest: the questions of politics here, to extent does politics matter in this. first of all free our vote. bo we are a nonpartisan

organization. i want to make that clear. i thin a correlation between -- i would say it's more regional than political. certain parts of the country i