Florida sort of defines the term "swing state." The smallest of variables can push the outcome of Florida's elections in one direction or another - in the year 2000 it was "hanging chads" and more recently it appeared it would be the re-enfranchisement of former felons. In 2018, Florida voters overwhelmingly passed Amendment 4, which restored the voting rights of most felons who had completed their sentences. This was a particularly important turn of events given the massive number of Floridians who could not vote due to felony convictions. Republican leadership in the state, however, has been working tirelessly to undermine the will of the people by making it harder for the formerly incarcerated to exercise their franchise. Some of the obstacles that have been erected include a requirement to clear all debts in order to vote - some former felons have actually been criminally prosecuted for voting without paying what in effect amounts to a poll tax. This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak to journalist Bianca Fortis who has written an investigative piece chronicling right wing efforts to keep Florida’s most vulnerable populations from participating in the democratic process. Then we dip into the archives to listen to our 2020 discussion with groundbreaking health physicist and nuclear expert, Hattie Carwell.

00:01 Narrator - This is Sea Change Radio, covering the shift to sustainability. I'm Alex Wise.

00:10 Bianca Fortis - The State of Florida accounts for more than 1/4 of the entire disenfranchised population in the United States.

00:29 Narrator - Florida sort of defines the term "swing state." The smallest of variables can push the outcome of Florida's elections in one direction or another - in the year 2000 it was "hanging chads" and more recently it appeared it would be the re-enfranchisement of former felons. In 2018, Florida voters overwhelmingly passed Amendment 4, which restored the voting rights of most felons who had completed their sentences. This was a particularly important turn of events given the massive number of Floridians who could not vote due to felony convictions. Republican leadership in the state, however, has been working tirelessly to undermine the will of the people by making it harder for the formerly incarcerated to exercise their franchise. Some of the obstacles that have been erected include a requirement to clear all debts in order to vote - some former felons have actually been criminally prosecuted for voting without paying what in effect amounts to a poll tax. This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak to journalist Bianca Fortis who has written an investigative piece chronicling right wing efforts to keep Florida’s most vulnerable populations from participating in the democratic process. Then we dip into the archives to listen to our 2020 discussion with groundbreaking health physicist and nuclear expert, Hattie Carwell.

1:56 Alex Wise (AW) - I'm joined now on Sea Change Radio by Bianca Fortis. Bianca is a journalist and a reporting fellow at Pro Publica. Bianca, welcome to Sea Change Radio.

2:06 Bianca Fortis (BF) - Thank you for having me.

2:08 AW - So I wanted to discuss a piece that you wrote for Pro Publica July 21st, entitled “A Government official helped them register. Now they've been charged with voter fraud,” and it's about the Florida voting story that's kind of been in the news for five years now running, it's taken an ugly turn, and I wanted to highlight it here on Sea Change Radio. Before we dive into what's currently happening right now, why don't you give us a little bit of back story on the history of this topic of felon voting, not just in Florida, but nationally?

2:46 BF - So across the United States,