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THE NOVEMBER EDITION OF THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH CRIMINAL JUSTICE SHOW.I AM JUDGE DONALD JOHNSON OF THE 19TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT.
AND AS WE START THIS PARTICULAR SHOW, WE ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH HAD A RECORD NUMBER OF CITIZENS WHO VOTED INTO THE NV NOVEMBER 3RD ELECTION.
HOWEVER, THERE WERE SOME PRECINCTS THAT WERE ON UNDER VOTING WERE CONCERNED ABOUT THAT.
HOWEVER, AS OF JANUARY THE 20TH OF 2021, WE WILL HAVE A NEW PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT, AND ON DECEMBER THE FIFTH OF THIS YEAR, WE WILL HAVE OUR NEXT ELECTION WHERE IN, WE WILL CHOOSE OUR MAYOR, PRESIDENT DISTRICT COURT JUDGES AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
SO TODAY WE WANT TO TALK TO THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF VOTING.
I AM PLEASED TO HAVE SEVERAL GUESTS TODAY THAT WILL SHARE WITH YOU THE IMPORTANCE OF VOTING.
LET ME SHARE WITH YOU PERSONALLY, WHY I BELIEVE VOTING IS SO IMPORTANT MANY, MANY YEARS AGO, AS A YOUNG MAN, I SET OUT IN MY COMMUNITY, REGISTERING PEOPLE TO VOTE 17 YEARS OLD.
I WOULD PICK UP THE FORMS AND GO INTO THE COMMUNITY CENTERS AND REGISTER PEOPLE TO VOTE.
AND DO YOU KNOW, IT'S ALMOST 50 YEARS LATER THAT I'M STILL DOING THE SAME UNDERTAKING.
SO IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME PERSONALLY.
LET ME SHARE WITH YOU NOW THOUGH, THE FIRST GUEST WHO WILL SPEAK TO US ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF VOTING.
OUR FIRST GUEST IS NONE OTHER THAN MELISSA YARBROUGH, AND SHE IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS, EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH.
SHE'S ALSO THEIR VOTER EDUCATIONAL COORDINATOR.
AND GOOD MORNING TO SOME MS. YARBOROUGH AFTERNOON, JUDGE JOHNSON.
I'D LIKE FOR YOU TO TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND THEN ADD TO THAT, SOMETHING ABOUT THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS.
AND THEN I'D LIKE FOR YOU TO TELL US ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO VOTE DOWN BALLOT.
AND IF YOU COULD CONCLUDE IN A FEW MINUTES, WHAT IT FEELS LIKE A, WHAT DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE ROLE OF YOUR ORGANIZATION AS TO PROVIDING VOTER INFORMATION, VOTING EDUCATIONAL VOTER GUIDES? THOSE ARE THE THREE THINGS I'D LIKE YOU TO TALK ABOUT.
SO WE'LL START WITH TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR ORGANIZATION AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU WORK IN.
UM, I WAS BORN AND RAISED HERE IN BATON ROUGE.
UM, WHEN I GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL, I LEFT FOR A WHILE.
I LIVED IN PHILADELPHIA AND I DISCOVERED THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS THERE ACTUALLY.
UM, WHEN I MOVED BACK IN 2010, UH, I, I COULDN'T FIND AS MANY SIMILAR ORGANIZATIONS AS I HAD SEEN IN PHILADELPHIA.
AND, UM, I HAD GOTTEN USED TO A VERY COMFORTABLE VOTING GUIDE THAT EXISTED UP THERE.
AND, UM, WHEN I CAME HERE, I, I STRUGGLED EACH ELECTION TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHO, UM, HOW TO FIND OUT ABOUT EACH CANDIDATE BEFORE GOING INTO THE BALLOT, UH, INTO THE VOTING BOOTH.
SO, UM, I SPENT HOURS AND HOURS RESEARCHING THE CANDIDATES AND I THOUGHT IT WOULD, IT WOULD BE NICE TO JUST HAVE A VOTING GUIDE.
AND I REALIZED THAT LIKE, IF WOMEN VOTERS DOES THAT, THEY DID IT IN PHILADELPHIA, THEY SHOULD DO IT HERE.
WELL, UH, WE DIDN'T HAVE AN ACTIVE LEAGUE IN BATON ROUGE AT THE TIME, SO I'M GLAD THAT, UH, FINALLY WE ARE ACTIVE AS OF 2018 HERE IN BATON ROUGE.
AND, UM, IT IS A NATIONAL ORGANIZATION THAT'S BEEN AROUND FOR A HUNDRED YEARS SINCE WOMEN GOT THE VOTE.
SO, UH, WE FINALLY HAVE OUR ACTIVE LEAGUE HERE IN BATON ROUGE.
UM, I'M EXCITED TO BE PART, TELL US NOW WHAT YOUR ORGANIZATION DOES LOCALLY IN THE AREA OF ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO VOTE, EDUCATING PEOPLE ABOUT THE BALLOT AND VOTING FROM THE TOP TO THE BOTTOM OF THE BALLOT.
UM, SO THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF GREATER BATON ROUGE, WE ARE A NON-PARTISAN ORGANIZATION AND WE ENCOURAGE THE INFORMED AND ACTIVE PARTICIPATION OF CITIZENS IN GOVERNMENT.
WE ALSO INFLUENCE PUBLIC POLICY THROUGH EDUCATION AND ADVOCACY.
SO, UM, ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, WE WANT TO DO IS ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO GET INVOLVED, TO VOTE, BUT ALSO TO HOLD OUR OFFICIALS ACCOUNTABLE, UH, WHETHER THE PERSON
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WE VOTED FOR WON OR NOT, BECAUSE THE MORE ACTIVE WE ARE, THE MORE SAY WE HAVE AND THE MORE GOVERNMENT REPRESENTS US.SO, UM, SPEAKING OF THE, UH, WE DID HAVE GREAT TURNOUT THIS PAST ELECTION, BUT DID YOU KNOW THAT ONLY 41% OF REGISTERED VOTERS IN OUR STATE ACTUALLY VOTED FOR TRUMP, EVEN THOUGH OUR STATE WENT TO TRUMP, UM, THAT'S BECAUSE 28% VOTED FOR BIDEN, 1% VOTED FOR OTHER CANDIDATES AND A WHOPPING 31% DID NOT VOTE NOW.
UM, THAT'S A GREAT EXAMPLE THAT CHOOSING NOT TO VOTE IS STILL MAKING A CHOICE AND ACTUALLY STILL HAS AN IMPACT, BUT MAYBE NOT NECESSARILY THE ONE THAT YOU WANTED BECAUSE YOU DON'T GET TO HAVE A SAY IF YOU DON'T VOTE.
SO THAT MEANS ALMOST A THIRD OF LOUISIANA VOTERS.
LET THE OTHER TWO THIRDS CHOOSE THE PRESIDENT FOR THEM OR TWOS THERE.
UH, POOL LOUISIANA WOULD VOTE FOR PRESIDENT.
I'M NOT ADVOCATING FOR A PARTICULAR PARTY OR CANDIDATE, BUT I AM SAYING THAT THE MORE PEOPLE WHO VOTE, THE MORE REPRESENTATIVE OUR GOVERNMENT IS OF THE WHOLE POPULATION.
NOW THIS IS EVEN MORE TRUE AS WE GO DOWN THE BALLOT TO THE MORE LOCAL POSITIONS, UM, BECAUSE YOU'RE VOTING FOR A CITY COUNCIL, WHO'S GOING TO DETERMINE WHAT YOUR CITY LOOKS LIKE.
YOU'RE VOTING FOR, UH, JUDGES WHO ARE GONNA DETERMINE YOUR FAMILY CUSTODY MATTERS.
THESE ARE VERY PERSONAL ISSUES THAT AFFECT US, BUT, UM, OUR NUMBERS SHOW THAT FEWER PEOPLE VOTE FOR THE POSITIONS THAT ARE FURTHER DOWN THE BALLOT.
SO WHAT, WHAT DO YOU SUPPOSE WE COULD DO TO GET MORE PEOPLE TO ACTUALLY VOTE AND VOTE? DOWN-BALLOT? WELL, UM, SHOWS LIKE THIS.
WE HAVE TO EDUCATE, WE HAVE TO EDUCATE EACH OTHER ON THE IMPORTANCE OF VOTING AND EVERY ELECTION, INCLUDING THE RUNOFF COMING UP ON DECEMBER 5TH, INCLUDING IN THE SPRING.
AND YOU KNOW, NOT JUST THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, EVERY FOUR YEARS, WE'VE GOT TO ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER TO VOTE IN EVERY ELECTION AND VOTING ALL THE WAY DOWN THE BALLOT FOR EVERY POSITION THAT WE HAVE A SAY IN, UH, WE ALSO NEED TO USE THE VOTER GUIDES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO US TO LEARN ABOUT ALL THE CANDIDATES, TO SEE WHO BEST MATCHES OUR INTERESTS.
BY LOOKING AT THAT VOTER GUIDE, YOU'RE GOING TO UNDERSTAND WHO'S RUNNING, WHAT POSITIONS ARE UP, UH, WHO THESE PEOPLE ARE, WHO, WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES ON YOUR BALLOT? SO THERE'S NO BIG QUESTION MARK.
WHEN YOU WALK INTO THE VOTING BOOTH, WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE, WHAT DO THESE POSITIONS EVEN MEAN? IF YOU JUST OPEN A VOTER GUIDE AHEAD OF TIME, YOU CAN READ ALL THAT INFORMATION AND UNDERSTAND WHAT'S ALL ON YOUR BALLOT AND HAVE, AND YOU CAN FEEL VERY CONFIDENT ABOUT WHO YOU'RE CHOOSING.
UM, WE ALSO NEED TO, LIKE I SAID, HOLD OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS ACCOUNTABLE, UM, AND ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER TO DO THAT.
WHETHER WE GET THE CANDIDATES WE VOTED FOR OR NOT, BECAUSE THE MORE, THE MORE WE CARE ABOUT IT, THE MORE INVOLVED WE GET.
UM, THE, THE BETTER, THE REASON I SAY THIS IS I THINK, I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO AREN'T VOTING AND I THINK THIS BECAUSE I'VE HEARD IT IS THAT, UM, PEOPLE GIVE UP, THEY FEEL LIKE, WELL, YOU KNOW, MY CANDIDATE DOESN'T WIN OR, UH, THE GOVERNMENT DOESN'T DO WHAT I WANT.
IT DOESN'T REPRESENT ME, BUT THE MORE WE PARTICIPATE, THE MORE IT DOES REPRESENT US FAREWELL.
I WANT TO THANK MELISSA Y'ALL FOR COMING OUT TO OUR SHOW AND GIVING US A PERSPECTIVE ON HER ORGANIZATION AND HER THRUST TO US THAT HER ORGANIZATION IS GOING TO DO MORE THAN WHAT THEY'VE BEEN DOING TO TRY AND REACH US, TO TRY AND TOUCH US.
SO WE WILL UTILIZE THE POWER OF OUR VOTE SO THAT WE WILL UTILIZE THE POWER OF OUR VOTE.
SO WE'RE GOING TO CONCLUDE OUR SEGMENT WITH THE PRESIDENT OF THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN, VOTERS FOR THE GREATER BATON ROUGE AREA.
AND, AND A SECOND, WE WILL REJOIN YOU WITH OUR SECOND GUEST, MR. CHICO YANCY, STANDBY TO MEET TWO FOR SOME OF YOU, MR. CHICO, YET OUR NEXT GUEST IS NONE OTHER THAN CHICO YANCY.
CHICO YANCEY IS THE POLICY DIRECTOR OF THE VOTERS ORGANIZED TO EDUCATE
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KNOWN AS V O T E CAPITAL V O T VOTE.GOOD AFTERNOON, MR. YANCEY AND GOOD MORNING TO SOME GOOD MORNING.
AND GOOD AFTERNOON, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER DAY IN GOD'S WORLD.
TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR ORGANIZATION.
AGAIN, LITTLE BIT ABOUT MYSELF.
UH, I'M A FORMERLY INCARCERATED PERSON.
WE ACTUALLY STARTED WORKING ON THIS INSIDE THE PRISON.
IT WAS CALLED AN GOVAN SPECIAL CIVICS PROJECT IN 1987.
AND WE REALIZED IN ORDER TO CHANGE THE LAWS TO GET ANYTHING DONE, UH, VOTING HAD TO TAKE PLACE.
SO WE HAD WELL THERE AND OUR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS, UH, NOT SO MUCH TO, UH, ADVOCATE GETTING OUT OF PRISON, ALTHOUGH WE WANTED TO GET OUT, BUT TO GET PEOPLE ELECTED THAT UNDERSTOOD THAT SOME OF THESE LAWS AND EVERYTHING WAS VERY UNFAIR AND THAT'S WHAT WE DID.
AND WE CAME OUT, WE CREATED ORGANIZATION CALLED BOLT WASH OF THE EXPERIENCE.
WE HAVE A C4 SIDE THAT I ACTUALLY HAVE THE POLICY DIRECTOR OF VOTERS ORGANIZED TO EDUCATE.
WE WANT TO EDUCATE VOTERS THAT EDUCATE PEOPLE AND, UH, 2018 WALMART, UH, REPRESENTATIVES, PAT SMITH, UH, FAULT FIVE YEARS, AND NOW FORMALLY INCARCERATED PEOPLE.
IF YOU'VE BEEN OUT OF PRISON AND HADN'T BEEN BACK IN EVERYTHING, WE HAVE OUR VOTING RIGHTS BACK.
I VOTED IN MY PRESS FIRST PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION AND VOTED BEFORE.
UH, JIMMY CARTER WAS IN OFFICE.
SO, UH, I TAKE, I TAKE THE VOTE VERY, VERY SERIOUS.
THAT'S THE LAST TIME A DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE CARROT, THE STATE OF GEORGIA.
SO A WHILE YOU GET TO VOTE FOR A PRESIDENT AND A JIMMY CARTER IS RAISED AND YOU GET TO VOTE FOR PRESIDENT AND THE BOTTOM IS RAISED AND HE'D START GEORGIA, UH, MADE A DIFFERENCE.
SO THIS INCREDIBLE WORK THAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING, UH, PARTICULARLY WITH FORMERLY INCARCERATED PERSONS, UH, HOW HAS THAT GONE? HAS THERE BEEN SOME APATHY WHERE THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN IN TUCSON ANALYZE COME OUT AND SAY, WELL, IT DOESN'T MATTER.
UH, GUYS, UH, I I'M, I'M BUYING OUT OF THE SYSTEM.
I, I'M NOT A PART OF THE, THE, THE, UH, THE WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IN MY FUTURE.
SO TELL US SOME CHICO ABOUT SOME OF THE CHALLENGES, SOME OF THE FORMERLY INCARCERATED PERSONS HAVE HAD.
AND, AND THEN WHEN YOU SHARE THAT, I WANT YOU TO SHARE THIS FOR ME.
I RAN ACROSS A YOUNG MAN THAT WANTED TO REGISTER.
I GAVE HIM THE REGISTRATION FORM.
I CALLED HIM BACK A WEEK LATER AND SAID, DID YOU GET YOUR VOTER'S CARD? HE SAID, NO, I GOT A LETTER SAYING THAT I NEED TO COME IN PERSONALLY AND TURN THIS IN.
AND I SAID, OKAY, WELL, LET'S WALK YOU THROUGH THE STEPS.
IF YOU ARE A FORMERLY INCARCERATED PERSON, YOU GOT TO JUMP THROUGH EXTRA PROCEDURAL, UH, CHALLENGES THAT I DON'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH TO REGISTER, TO VOTE.
VERY TRUE, VERY TRUE, VERY TRUE.
THAT IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE, UH, UH, WE LOOKED AT THE NUMBERS.
THERE IS, UH, APPROXIMATELY 30 TO $50 AND FORMERLY INCARCERATED PEOPLE THAT WOULD BE ELIGIBLE TO REGISTER TO VOTE.
THE PROBLEM WITH THAT IS WE ARE HAVING TO EDUCATE PEOPLE OURSELVES.
THE SECRETARY OF STATE HAS DECIDED THAT THAT IS OUR JOB, AND IT'S NOT HIS JOB TO DO IT.
AND WE HAD TO TAKE IT BACK TO COURT TO ACTUALLY PUT IT ON THE WEBSITE THAT FLORIDA, BECAUSE IT WAS ON, IF YOU HAD A CONVICTION, IT WAS A FORM OF IMPRISONMENT THAT TERM IN PRISON, PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN OUT OF PRISON FOR 26 YEARS, BUT THAT TERM UNDER THE IMPRISONMENT MEANT THAT YOU WERE NOT ABLE.
SO THE HOOPS THAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT IS, YOU KNOW, AFTER MARCH OF 19, IF YOU'RE OFF OF PAROLE AND YOU'RE STILL ON PROBATION, YOU HAVE TO GO TO YOUR PROBATION OFFICES.
THEY HAVE TO GIVE YOU A LETTER.
AND THE LETTER, IN FACT, I HAVE A SAMPLE COPY OF IT HERE.
IT'S A CERTIFIED LETTER THAT THEY HAVE, THEY GIVE US.
I HAD TO GO TO MY PROBATION OFFICER TO GET THIS LETTER BECAUSE I'M STILL ON PAROLE.
AND, UH, THEY HAD TO CERTIFY THAT I'D BEEN OUT OF PRISON.
FIVE YEARS HAD NOT, DID ANYTHING AND STILL DOING WHAT I'M SUPPOSED TO DO.
THEY GAVE ME THE LADDER THAT I HAD TO TAKE THAT DOWN TO THE RETICENCE OF OFFICE AND HAD A WALL BY IDS AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
NOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT, THAT WE HAVE IS WHEN I GOT PURGED FROM THE ROLLS, WHEN I GOT CONVICTED, THE COMPUTERS TALK TO EACH OTHER AND SAID, PURGE HIM OFF THE ROAD.
NOBODY MADE A PHONE CALL AND NOBODY HAD TO WALK DOWN AND DO ANYTHING TO COMPUTER'S MERIT.
AND THEY TALKED TO EACH OTHER.
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THIS THING RIGHT NOW IS DEALS THE SECRETARY OF STATE, JUST AS EASY AS YOU TOOK ME OFF OF THE ROLLS AND PURGE ME.ONCE I REACHED THE FIVE YEARS, YOU SHOULD PUT ME BACK ON THE ROLES.
AND WE'RE STILL TRYING TO GET PLAINTIFFS TOGETHER.
WE ARE STILL IN THE LITIGATION FORM WITH THE SECRETARY OF STATE, UH, HONORABLE KYLE LAWTON.
AND I MEAN, HIS, HIS POSITION IS, HEY, YOU GOTTA DO THESE THINGS.
OPPOSITION IS YOU TOOK ME OFF AND WE DIDN'T HAVE TO DO ALL OF THAT.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE TO NEWSLETTER.
YOU HAVE TO VISIT YOUR PROBATION OFFICER, GO TO THE REGISTER'S OFFICE.
AND WE ACTUALLY FOUND THIS OUT, JUDGE, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS AND VERNON AND A UNION PARISH.
AND WE HAVE AN AWFUL LOUISIANA WHERE THE SHERIFFS ARE VERY IN CONTROL OF EVERYTHING.
GUY FOLLOWED INSTRUCTIONS, DID EVERYTHING WITH THE PROBATION, GOT HIS LETTER.
AND WHEN HE WENT TO THE REGISTRAR'S OFFICE, THE REGISTRAR TOLD HIM, NO, IF YOU DON'T GET OUT OF HERE, WE'LL CALL THE SHERIFF AND LOCK YOU UP.
WELL, IF YOU OVER ROLL, YOU DON'T WANT TO GO BACK TO PRISON TRYING TO REGISTER IT.
AND FOR WHAT I WAS TOLD, THAT THAT RED A STALL WAS A LET GO AND PUT SOMEBODY ELSE IN.
BUT, UH, THAT'S THE OTHER THING WE'RE FINDING OUT YOUR REGISTER IS NOT AN ELECTED OFFICIAL.
THAT'S THE OFFICE THAT'S PASSED DOWN THROUGH THE FAMILY, SO THEY DIDN'T DO WHAT THE HECK THEY WANT TO DO.
THAT'S UNFORTUNATE THAT HE HAD TO EXPERIENCE THAT.
DID HE EVENTUALLY GET REGISTERED? YEAH.
I ACTUALLY HAD A VISION THAT GOT HIM REGISTERED, BUT IT TOOK ARM AND A LEG, BUT HE WAS STILL SCARED.
I CAN SEE MODEL FOLDS, YOU KNOW, THE CAR.
SO HE DIDN'T WANT THE PEOPLE TO COME IN AND KICK HIM, KICK HIS DOUGH IN AND TAKE IT BACK TO PRISON WAS JUST TRYING TO REGISTER, YOU KNOW, BUT WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT YOU CAN VOTE, LEARN THE NEW LAW AND I, ANYBODY THAT HAS ANY PROBLEM, ANYTHING, UH, YOU CAN CALL ME AT AREA CODE TWO, TWO, FIVE, TWO, 752 45, OUR WEBSITE, UH, YOU CAN GO TO OUR WEBSITE, WWW, UH, KNOW YOUR VOTE, LA.ORG.
AND YOU CAN FIND OUT ALL INFORMATION YOU NEED TO KNOW TO GET OUT AND READ IT.
I'M HAPPY TO HEAR ABOUT THE, UM, THE CONSTANT ACTIVITY OF YOUR ORGANIZATION AND WORKING WITH OUR LEGISLATORS.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE AWARE OF THIS, MR. NANCY, I HELPED TO, UH, HAVE A BILL PASSED, UH, SHORTLY AFTER THE BILL WAS SUCCESSFULLY IN RETURNING THE RIGHT TO VOTE TO FORMALLY INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS.
I HAD BEEN WORKING IN THIS AREA AND I WENT TO THE LEGISLATURE AND HAD THEM TO APPROVE THE BILL CONSISTENT WITH WHAT YOU'RE SAYING ABOUT WHEN IT IS REPORTED THAT YOU HAVE PLED GUILTY OF BEING CONVICTED OF A FELONY THAT IS SENT TO THE VOTER REGISTRAR'S OFFICE.
I WENT TO THE LEGISLATION AND SAID, LOOK, GUYS, THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS KNOWS WHO'S ON PROBATION.
THE VOTER, UH, SECRETARY OF STATE HAS THE LIST OF ELIGIBLE VOTERS.
SO JUST LIKE THEY GET NOTIFIED WHEN YOU WERE TAKEN OFF.
I ASKED THEM TO EQUALLY PUT ON THERE WHEN YOU QUALIFY TO GET YOUR RIGHT BACK, RIGHT.
ALSO, I WAS THE PROPONENT OF THAT.
SO NOW BASICALLY ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS TO MATCH THESE LISTS, WHICH WE'VE DONE.
NOW, WE HAVE THE ABILITY, RIGHT? AND THEN, AND DATA PROCESS, RIGHT? TO GET THAT DONE.
BOTTOM LINE THOUGH, HERE'S WHERE WE ARE.
UH, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE ARE MAKING IT SO DIFFICULT.
SO OVERBEARING UNNECESSARILY FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE RETURNING TO US, PEOPLE WHO ARE RETURNING TO THE COMMUNITY SHOULD HAVE A PROCESS THAT IS NOT OVERBURDENSOME.
THAT IS NOT PUNISHMENT ITSELF.
THE PROCESS IS PUNISHMENT AND THE PERSONS HAVE BEEN IN THE INSTITUTION.
THEY SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO COME BACK AND QUALIFIED TO VOTE.
SO I HEARD YOU SAY SOMETHING THAT, AND THE HARDEST THING THAT WE'RE FINDING IS EDUCATING PEOPLE ABOUT THIS PROCESS, YOU KNOW, WITH THE PASTORS ACROSS THE STATE OF LOUISIANA, UH, WITH BONO ORGAN TO THAT OTHER ORGANIZATION THAT DO THIS KIND OF WORK, WE HAD TO EDUCATE PEOPLE.
WE HAD EDUCATE ELDERS, SOME PAROLE OFFICERS DIDN'T LIKE THIS LAW.
SO ALL OF THIS HAD TO COME DOWN FROM THE SECRETARY OF DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION TO, TO ACTUALLY GET EVERYBODY TO DO IT.
SO WE COULD PUT A POST UP IN ALL 26 DISTRICTS THAT PEOPLE COULD SEE IT.
WE, WE PUT YARD SIGNS OUT, WE PUT THEM IN BARBERSHOPS.
WE PUT THEM IN LITTLE GROCERY STORES.
SO PEOPLE CAN UNDERSTAND THAT IF YOU'VE BEEN OUT OF PRISON FIVE YEARS, YOU ARE NOW ELIGIBLE TO GET YOUR VOTING RIGHTS AT TURN.
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LIKE YOU SAID, YOUR HONOR, UH, IF YOU'RE ON PRO PROBATION AND NEVER GO, YOU SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN OFF.SO THEREFORE WE HAD TO DO ALL OF THAT.
AND WE'RE TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, MARY, EVERY, YOU KNOW, I HEARD YOU SAID THAT A PROCESS THAT WAS WAY BACK IN THE DAY.
AND COMPUTER THAT, EVERYTHING, YOU CAN PUT A CELL PHONE AND TALK IN JAPAN RIGHT NOW.
SO WHY WOULD IT BE SO HARD THAT THE SECRETARY OF STATE AND THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS COULD NOT MARRY THOSE COMPUTERS? AND ONCE THAT PERSON HIT THAT, MARK SEND THEM A NOTICE AND SAY, HEY, MAKE SURE YOU GO DOWN.
IF YOU WANT TO GO IN PERSON TO THE REGISTRAR, THAT'S GOOD.
BUT YOU CAN HAVE ACTUALLY GO ONLINE BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO KICK IN WITH THE COMPUTER AND SAY, YOU ARE NOT ELIGIBLE JUST AS EASY AS ANYBODY ELSE TO GO AND REGISTER.
UH, YOU KNOW, VOTER SUPPRESSION IS REAL.
IT WAS DONE THAT WAY WITH JIM CROW LAWS.
AND WE CHANGED A LOT OF THAT, BUT IT'S STILL A HARD BITE, YOU KNOW, JUST LIKE RIGHT NOW, WE'RE ACTUALLY PUTTING PEOPLE ON THE STREET TO GET OUT THE VOTE.
I MEAN, UH, I WAS LISTENING TO MELISSA TALKING EARLIER.
WE'RE ASKING PEOPLE TO VOTE THE VAL FROM DOWN UP YOUR SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER, YOU PARISH PRESIDENT, YOU HAVE COUNCILMAN, UH, YOUR JUDGE, ALL OF THESE PEOPLE ARE IMPORTANT TO YOUR CONSTABLE TO NOT JUST THE TOP BECAUSE THE PEOPLE COME FROM THE BOTTOM AND THEN RISE TO THE TOP.
THEY DON'T GO TO THE TOP AND COME DOWN.
SOMETIME THEY GET GOOD PORTION TO GO TO THE TOP.
SO WE'RE TEACHING PEOPLE, VOTE THE BALLOT DOWN THAT WAY, YOU GET ALL OF IT AND EVERYTHING.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE EMPLOYING PEOPLE TO GET INVOLVED, UH, UNDERSTAND, KNOWING YOUR VOTE AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT YOUR VOTE IS.
ALL ORGANIZATION SAYS, NO, YOUR VOTE.
YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WILL COME TO YOU AND ASK YOU WHEN YOU VOTE FOR ME, THEY LOVE YOU THERE, BUT THEY NEVER COME BACK AND DO ANYTHING.
SO YOU HAVE TO, UH, OUR ORGANIZATION, OUR SCREENING PROCESS IS WE DON'T TAKE ANY MONEY FROM ANYBODY.
WE SET OUT A SURVEY TO THE CANDIDATES.
AND WHEN YOU SEND IT BACK BASED UPON WHAT YOU SAID, YOU WANT TO DO IT IN THE COMMUNITY.
THEN WE CAN HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE SO LATER WRONG.
IF YOU DON'T DO THAT, YOU CAN'T SAY, WELL, I GAVE YOU $5,000 TO GET ON YOUR BALLOT.
BUT NOW YOU SAID, THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO DO FOR THE COMMUNITY.
NOT FOR ME AS A PERSON, BUT FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
I WANT TO THANK OUR GUESTS, CHICO YANCY.
UH, A LOT OF YOU WHO ARE OUT THERE IN OUR COMMUNITY, PLED GUILTY OF WAS CONVICTED OF A FELONY CRIME, A FELONY.
AND YOU BELIEVE THAT BECAUSE YOU PLED GUILTY WAS CONVICTED OF A FELONY.
THAT IS A DISQUALIFYING, UH, ELEMENT TO REGISTER.
I NEED TO EXPLAIN THIS TO YOU.
NOT EVERYBODY WHO PLEADS GUILTY OR IS CONVICTED OF A FELONY, LOSES THEIR RIGHT TO VOTE.
THAT CONVICTION HAS TO BE RELATED TO THE TYPE OF SENTENCE, MR. GADSON.
SO IF I PUT YOU ON PROBATION FOR A FELONY, AND I TOLD YOU THAT YOU ARE UNDER PROBATION UNDER ARTICLE EIGHT 93 OF THE CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, THAT CONVICTION DOES NOT QUALIFY YOU TO BE REMOVED.
SO YOU NEED TO LOOK AT HOW YOU WERE SENTENCED FOR YOUR FELONY.
SO YOU COULD DETERMINE IF YOU ARE NOT QUIET AND THE WAY YOU EXPLAINED THAT CHINA, THAT IS THE SIMPLEST THAT I'VE HEARD IN A LONG TIME, THE EIGHT, NINE, AND THREE ARTICLE EIGHT, NINE, AND THREE, THAT PEOPLE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT, HEY, YOU KNOW, THE BEST THING TO DO, IF YOU'RE NOT SURE ABOUT SOMETHING, CALL SOMEBODY AN ASS.
I MEAN, MY PHONE NUMBER AGAIN IS AREA CODE TWO, TWO FIVE, TWO SEVEN ZERO 52 45.
AND ADVANTAGE YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT VOTING RIGHTS WHEN THE FORMER INCARCERATED, YOU KNOW, WE CAN GIVE IT TO YOU AND EVERYTHING, BECAUSE YOU NEED TO KNOW YOUR VOTE IS YOUR POWER.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE POSTCARDS THAT WE GIVE IT.
WE, THAT EXPLAINS IS SO SIMPLE, THAT, THAT EVERYTHING ABOUT WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO BECOME A REGISTERED VOTER.
YOU KNOW, IT'S EASY TO COMPLAIN ABOUT SOMETHING.
IT'S EASY TO SAY, HEY, DOING THIS, AIN'T DO THAT, BUT HOW WOULD HAVE YOU DONE NOW? I WANT TO SAY THIS Y'ALL KNOW WHAT WE FOUND OUT.
WE VERY DISAPPOINTED OF THE 30,000 AND 50,000 PEOPLE THAT'S ELIGIBLE.
WE ONLY GOT A CHANCE TO REGISTER THEM FROM FIVE TO 7,000 PEOPLE CAN'T EVEN BEGIN TO DO THAT, BUT, BUT THAT, THAT MISINFORMATION LACKS A DAY TO A YEAR AND THE BRIDGE THAT THEY PUT UP, THE BARRIERS THAT THE POWERS THAT BE PUT UP, WE WANT TO TEAR THOSE DOWN TO LET FOLKS KNOW YOU ARE.
NOW YOU CAN GO GET REGISTERED AS YOU CAN VOTE.
IF YOU'VE BEEN OUT OF PRISON, FIVE YEARS, PAROLE, PROBATION,
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WHATEVER YOU BET OUT, UH, YOU CAN NOW GO AND FIND OUT ABOUT GETTING YOUR VOTING RIGHTS BACK, MORE WORK TO BE DONE AGAIN.I WANT TO THANK OUR GUEST, MR. YANCEY, WE'LL BE BACK IN A MINUTE AND WE'LL START WITH OUR NEXT GUEST.
YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT TO SAY SOMETHING.
I DON'T KNOW IF PEOPLE KNOW THIS, BUT EVERY TIME I'M OUT THERE REGISTERING FOLKS IN THE HOT STREETS AND EVERYTHING.
I SEE YOU OUT THERE, JUDGE YOUR JUDGE.
AND I SEE YOU OUT THERE REGISTERED AND FOLKS NOT TELLING ANYBODY WHO TO VOTE FOR, BUT YOU'RE REGISTERED.
UH, WE'LL BE BACK IN A MINUTE.
I'M JUDGE DONALD JOHNSON OF THE 19TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT AND CONTINUING WITH OUR SERIES OF MONTHLY SEMINARS REGARDING, UH, CRIME AND CRIMINAL CRIMINOLOGY IN OUR COMMUNITY.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT VOTING RIGHTS AND THE POWER IN VOTING.
THE SPECIAL GAS THAT I'M GOING TO INTRODUCE NOW IS KNOWN FOR HER TREMENDOUS WORK IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SHE IS SHERRY THOMAS, AND SHE'S THE PRESIDENT OF THE LOUISIANA HEALTH INSTITUTE.
AND SHE'S THE FOUNDER ALSO OF THE PUMPS TO POLES AND A MEMBER OF THESE BATTERIES, PARISH PRISON REFORM COALITION, THREE ENTITIES, THREE JOBS.
MS. THOMAS, I SUPPOSE YOUR HARD WORK.
UM, LET, LET'S START WITH, TELL THE COMMUNITY A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOU PERSONALLY, AND THEN ABOUT THESE ORGANIZATIONS THAT YOU WORK AWESOME.
I'M SRI THOMAS, UH, WHAT THEY HAVE, UH, TITLED ME AS A SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR, AS WELL AS A COMMUNITY ADVOCATE.
I AM OVER THE HEALTH CARE TASK FORCE FOR THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH PRISON REFORM COALITION AT THAT, UH, TASK.
WE ARE WORKING TO ENSURE THAT DETAINEES AS WELL AS PRISONERS RECEIVE EQUAL HIGH QUALITY HEALTH CARE AS CIVILIANS.
UM, ALSO TOO, AS THE FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF LOUISIANA HEALTHCARE INSTITUTE, I TEACH OTHERS HOW TO, UH, ENSURE COMPLIANCE AS WELL AS BILLING AND CODING AND HEALTHCARE AND PUMPS TO THE POLE IS A COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION THAT I FOUNDED TO ENSURE THAT WOMEN UTILIZE THEIR INFLUENCE TO GET INDIVIDUALS TO THE POLE.
SO MS. THOMAS, I KNOW YOU'RE WORKING EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH, PARTICULARLY WITH THE PRISON REFORM COALITION.
IT MEANS A LOT TO THE FAMILIES THAT ARE, UH, INVOLVED WITH OUR RELATIVES WHO ARE IN JAILS AND PRISONS.
AND I'VE FOUND THAT YOUR ACTIVE WORKING HAS HELPED TO RELAY TO THOSE FAMILY MEMBERS WHAT TO DO, HOW TO HELP.
SO SHARE WITH US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR WORK ON THE COALITION AND HOW THAT'S IMPACTED OUR COMMUNITY AND HOW THAT CAN IMPACT VOTING EXACTLY WITH THE COALITION I JOINED THE COALITION, BECAUSE WHAT I ACTUALLY DO IS A, UM, IT'S A, IT'S A, IT'S A SPECIALTY.
YOU DON'T FIND PEOPLE, UH, IN MY JOB AND MY ROLE WITH MY KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE, JUST SITTING AROUND DAILY.
AND I DID KNOW THAT IT WAS VERY, UH, HELPFUL TO THE COALITION FOR ME TO JOIN.
I UNDERSTAND HEALTH CARE PRACTICES.
I HAVE A DEGREE IN BUSINESS SYSTEMS ANALYSIS.
SO AS WELL AS HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT, SO UNDERSTANDING HOW HEALTHCARE ENTITIES AND HOW HEALTHCARE SHOULD BE PROVIDED TO EVERYONE AND UNDERSTANDING, AND BEING ABLE TO RELAY THAT INFORMATION, NOT JUST TO THE DETAINEES AND THEIR FAMILIES, BUT ALSO TWOS TO SOME OF OUR COMMUNITY LEADERS, TO SOME OF THE JUDGES, TO SOME OF THE ACTUAL COUNCIL MEMBERS TO UNDERSTAND AND KNOW THAT THE PRACTICES THAT ARE PERFORMED INSIDE OF THE PRISON AND THE JAILS SHOULD BE NO DIFFERENT THAN THE PRACTICES THAT'S PERFORMED FOR HEALTH CARE AND ACTUAL, UM, BRICK AND MORTAR FACILITIES OUTSIDE OF PRISONS.
THE ANATOMY AND THE PHYSIOLOGY OF THE BODY IS THE SAME, NO MATTER THE LOCATION OF THE PERSON.
AND SO IT WAS VERY, UH, TREMENDOUS WORK THAT WE'VE PROVIDED TO UNDERSTAND THE POLICIES AND THE PRACTICES THAT NEEDED TO OCCUR INSIDE OF THE ACTUAL PRISON SYSTEM AND SOME OF THE DEFICIENCIES THAT WERE THERE AND HOW I COULD UTILIZE
[00:30:01]
MY EXPERTISE TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE SOME THAT'S A TREMENDOUS, YOUR WORK HAS BEEN REWARDING.LET ME ASK YOU THOMAS TO FOCUS ON THIS OTHER ENTITY THAT YOU FOUNDED AND IT'S WORKING SO DILIGENTLY PUMPS TO THE POLLS.
I SUPPOSE THAT I NEED TO GET DEPRESSING.
UH, I NEED TO GET, I NEED TO GET PUMPED UP.
HOW ABOUT THAT? TELL US HOW DOES THAT ORGANIZATION, UH, WORK TOWARD MAN? UH, I KEPT HEARING, I KEPT HEARING THIS DURING THE VOTING, UH, UH, LAST WEEK, A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO THAT YOU LADIES, YOU, UH, WOMEN ARE SO POWERFUL BECAUSE YOU TURN OUT AND VOTE WAY BEYOND WHAT I DO.
SO I'M A LITTLE ASHAMED TO SAY I'M SECOND TO THE FEMALES NOW IN VOTING PERCENTAGE, BUT THAT'S A FACT, THAT'S A FACT, MAN, OUR WOMEN ARE TELLING US THAT WE ARE NOT VOTING AT THE RATE THAT THEY ARE, THEY ARE TELLING US SOMETHING.
THEY'RE TELLING US THAT THEY ARE LEADING MAN, AND THE PERCENTAGE OF VOTING.
LET'S NOT LET THAT HAPPEN ANYMORE.
LET'S START A PROCESS WHERE THE PUCK TO THE POLLS CAN HELP US MEN GO VOTE AND SHARE WITH US ABOUT THAT.
SO PUMPS TO THE POLE CAME ABOUT BECAUSE I REALIZED THAT I HAD DONE LOTS OF WORK IN THE COMMUNITY WITH A WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT ALSO TO WOMEN'S INFLUENCE, AND ALSO BEING ABLE TO BE AN INSPIRATION TO WOMEN AND ALSO TO MEN IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND I NEEDED TO UTILIZE MY VOICE AND THE INFLUENCE THAT I HAD TO BE ABLE TO, UH, GET OTHERS, TO UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH INFLUENCE AND POWER THAT THEY HAD.
OF COURSE, AS YOU, AS YOU KNOW, THE FACTS, THE WOMEN ARE TURNING OUT IN HIGH NUMBERS TO THE POLL.
HOWEVER, PUMPS TO THE POLL IS NOT JUST ABOUT WOMEN.
IT'S ABOUT WOMEN TO BE ABLE TO USE THEIR INFLUENCE AND OUR POWER TO GET YOU TO COME WITH US.
AND SO AS A WOMAN, EVERY INDIVIDUAL ON THIS EARTH, EVERY COMMUNITY, EVERY ORGANIZATION, EVERY CITIZEN HAS A WOMAN IN THEIR LIFE.
SO FOR PUMPS TO THE POLE, WHAT WE'RE DOING, WE'RE ASKING WOMEN NOT TO JUST GET OUT AND VOTE, BUT TO BRING SOMEONE WITH YOU, GRAB THAT MAN, THAT'S IN YOUR LIFE, WHETHER IT'S YOUR SON, WHETHER IT'S YOUR JUDGE, WHETHER IT'S YOUR FATHER, WHETHER IT'S YOUR PASTOR OR, AND GET THEM TO COME OUT WITH THEM.
AND SO NOTICE COMMUNITY WHAT MS. THOMAS HAS JUST TOLD US, SINCE WE WON'T GO AT THE RATE THAT THEY GO ALONE, THAT THEY'RE GOING TO HELP US.
THEY'RE GOING TO TAKE US MAN WITH THEM.
IT'S A FAMILY AFFAIR AND A COMMUNITY OF FAITH.
DON'T YOU GO VOTE WITHOUT YOUR MAN.
ONE LAST THING I LIKED FROM MS. THOMAS AND SHARE WITH US IS THIS EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH PRISON COALITION.
AND THAT LADY WE KNOW IS REVEREND ALEXANDER ANDERSON ANDERSON.
I SAY ALEXANDER ANDERSON WHEN REVEREND ANDERSON CAME ON THE SCENE AND TOLD ME ABOUT THIS ORGANIZATION, I CAME OUT AT THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH, MAIN LIBRARY.
AND, UH, FIRST OFF I THOUGHT I'D, MAYBE I SHOULDN'T BE A PART OF THAT ORGANIZATION BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T LOOKING AT ME AS IF I WAS SUSPECT.
BUT I SAID, NO, THEY'RE INSERTED VERY INTERESTED IN HOPI PEOPLE.
DESPITE THE FACT THAT THEY WERE JAILED OR INCARCERATED THEY'RE PEOPLE AND THEY NEEDED TO TALK, THEY NEEDED ASSISTANCE.
SO THAT COALITION I'M SO PROUD OF.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT OTHER CITIES HAVE OR WHAT OTHER STATES HAVE.
THERE'S EQUIVALENT TO WHAT WE HAVE HERE, BUT THE COALITION'S WORK TRYING TO WORK WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.
WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN IN THAT AREA? HOW HAS THE COALITION NETWORK AND ORGANIZED ITSELF TO MOBILIZE AND COALESCE OTHERS TO GET INVOLVED IN THAT WORK? WE HAVE A VERY, VERY POWERFUL GROUP.
AS YOU, AS YOU KNOW, UH, WE HAVE, UH, LOTS OF INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE A PART OF THE COALITION.
IT IS A COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION.
IT IS COMMUNITY SERVICE, BUT WE HAVE ATTORNEYS.
WE HAVE EXPERTS IN THE FIELD THAT, OR HAVE BEEN IN A PRISON THAT WE HAVE INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE FAMILY MEMBERS THAT HAVE BEEN IN PRISON.
WE HAVE SOME OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS THAT IT'S REALLY SAD.
UM, THEY HAVE HAD FAMILY MEMBERS TO DIE IN THE PRISON.
AND SO FOR US, WE HAVE NOT, UH, BEEN, UH, SILOED.
[00:35:01]
HAVE WORKED WITH EVERYONE, EVERY ORGANIZATION THAT HAVE OUR SAME MISSION AT HEART, WE HAVE PROVIDED INDIVIDUALS WITH PAPERWORK, WITH ACTUAL EDUCATION.UH, WE DON'T JUST SAY WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO.
WE GO TO THE PRISON AND WE DO TOURS AND WE ACTUALLY ARE ON THE GROUND TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT'S INCARCERATED.
AND THEN ALSO TOO, WE PROVIDE INDIVIDUALS WITH MORE RESOURCES TO ASSIST INDIVIDUALS IN THE AREAS WHERE THEY'RE TO AVOID THEM FROM BEING INCARCERATED.
SO THE, UH, PRISON REFORM CORRELATION, WHILE WE HAVE, UH, INITIALLY STARTED AS THE ACTUAL CORRELATION, WE HAVE BECOME MORE OF A RESOURCE TO NOT JUST THOSE THAT ARE INCARCERATED IN THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS, BUT ALSO TO THE COMMUNITY.
I WANT TO, AGAIN, THANK SHERRY THOMAS FOR JOINING US TODAY.
UH, BEFORE WE LEAVE WITH THIS SEGMENT, I'D LIKE TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT OUR, OUR AUDIENCE KNOWS HOW TO ATTEND YOUR MEETINGS, VIRTUAL MEETINGS, AND HOW TO CONTACT YOUR ORGANIZATION BY TELEPHONE OR SOME OTHER PLATFORM.
SO PLEASE REACH OUT NOW AND TELL OUR PUBLIC HOW TO REACH OUT TO YOU AND YOUR ORGANIZATION.
YOU CAN REACH ME@WWWSHERRYTHOMASDOTCOMALSOTOWWWPUMPSTOTHEPOLL.ORG OR AREA CODE TWO, TWO FIVE SIX SIX THREE THREE THREE SIX NINE.
OUR NEXT EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH PRISON REFORM COALITION IS THIS THURSDAY AT 6:00 PM.
AND WE ARE VIRTUAL ON FACEBOOK AT THE EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH PRISON REFORM COALITION FACEBOOK PAGE.
SO WE WILL CLOSE OUT THIS SEGMENT AND RETURN AND I'LL INVITE YOU TO STAY TUNED AS WE INVITE OUR NEXT GUEST.
I WANT TO WELCOME THE COMMUNITY BACK TO THE MONTHLY EAST BATTERIES PAIRS, CRIMINAL JUSTICE SHOW.
I'M JUDGE DONALD JOHNSON AGAIN, AND I'M DELIGHTED.
I'M HAPPY TO INTRODUCE TO SOME OF YOU AND SHARE WITH YOU TO WANDA BOATNER TO WANDA VOTING.
THERE IS A DEMOCRATIC ELECTION SUPERVISOR, AND SHE'S ALSO A MEMBER OF THIS EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH PRISON REFORM COALITION.
GOOD AFTERNOON TO SOME AND GOOD MORNING TO OTHERS, MS. BOATNER.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME.
WE ARE PLEASED TO HAVE YOU HERE BECAUSE YOU ARE AN ACTUAL ELECTED COMMISSIONED OFFICIAL.
AND IN THAT ROLE, YOU SHARE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO OUR COMMUNITY AMENDMENTS, BOUNDED ITEMS AND ELECTIVE OFFICE.
SO YOU ARE REALLY AN IMPORTANT LOCAL PARISH ELECTED OFFICIAL.
I FORMERLY WAS A MEMBER MANY YEARS AGO.
THAT WAS MY ACTUAL FIRST ELECTED PUBLIC OFFICE.
I WAS CHAIR CO-CHAIR MANY, MANY YEARS AGO.
UH, SO I'M VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE ORGANIZATION.
WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO TODAY IS TO HAVE YOU SHARE WITH US THE CONCERNS THAT YOU HAVE RELATING TO VOTING AND VOTING DURING THIS PERIOD OF THE PANDEMIC, THE COVID-19, BUT BEFORE YOU SHARE WITH US WHAT YOUR PERSPECTIVE IS ON THAT, I WANT YOU TO TELL THE AUDIENCE SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF AND WHAT THE PURPOSE OF YOUR PARTICIPATION IS ON THAT REFORM COMMITTEE.
YOU MAY, UH, SHARE WITH US, OKAY, AGAIN, I'M TOWANDA BONE AND I'M A BOOK, UH, PARISH BOARD OF ELECTED ECLECTION SUPERVISOR, AS WELL AS I SERVE ON DEEPAK, WHICH IS DEMOCRATIC PARENTS, EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, AND DSCC DEMOCRATIC STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMPACITY OF THE BOARD OF ELECTION SUPERVISOR, WHAT IS IMPORTANT.
AND I WANT TO AH, DISCUSS TODAY IF THIS IS ON THE AGENDA, IS THE MAIL OUT BALLOT.
UM, THE IMPORTANCE OF THAT IS BACK IN 2016, 150,000 VOTES WERE REJECTED FOR VARIOUS REASONS.
THESE ARE SOME OF THE REASONS, REASONS THAT THEY WERE
[00:40:01]
REJECTED WAS SIGNATURE OVER VOTING AS WELL AS AFFIDAVIT FLAT.I HAVE A SAMPLE BALLOT HERE WITH ME TODAY.
IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU DO NOT DETACH THIS FLAG OFF OF YOUR BALLOT AND YOUR BALLOT MUST BE PLACED BACK IN THE ENVELOPE AND SEALED.
THESE ARE SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT WE'RE HAVING WITH THE LAST PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION THAT WE RAN ACROSS WHEN WE HAD TO WORK ELECTION DAY.
SO IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO GET THE WITNESS SIGNATURE OR WHERE THIS CAN BE ANYONE, IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE, THAT PERSON NEEDS TO FILL OUT THE CORRECT SPOT ON THE BALLOT.
UH, THERE ARE MANY ISSUES THAT WE'VE HAD TO JACK SOME BOLTS, AND I DON'T THINK THAT'S FAIR TO THE CANDIDATES RUNNING AS WELL AS THE CONSTITUENTS, BUT THESE ARE SOME THINGS THAT I WANT TO REALLY POINT OUT.
THAT IS A MAJOR ISSUE THAT WE SEE ON ELECTION DAY.
WE ALSO HAVE A LOT OF INDIVIDUALS ARE OVER VOTING.
UH, WHEN I SAY OVER VOTING, WE HAD OVER A HUNDRED BALLOTS, UH, VOLTS.
THERE WAS ALL OVER VOTING, WHICH WE CANNOT COUNT IS ILLEGAL.
AND WHEN I SAY OVER VOTING, IF IT STATES TO SPECIFICALLY CHOOSE ONE, YOU CANNOT CHOOSE TO, OR YOUR VOTE WILL NOT COUNT AS FOR THE WITNESS SIGNATURE.
IF A WITNESS SIGNATURE IS NOT ON YOUR MAIL-IN BALLOT, THEN WE CAN BASICALLY DISCUSS IT.
AND WE DECIDE IF IT'S VALID OR INVALID, BECAUSE WITH THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, THERE'S A REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AS WELL AS MYSELF OR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.
SO THESE ARE SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT ARE KIND OF HIGHLIGHTED.
I DIDN'T WANT TO MISS ANYTHING BECAUSE IT'S VERY IMPORTANT.
SOME OF THE BALLOTS AS WELL, SOMETIMES PEOPLE DON'T CIRCLE THE OVAL, THE UPPER X OR CHECK, PLEASE FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS BECAUSE THE SCANNER WILL NOT PICK IT UP.
ONCE THAT HAPPENS, THEY BRING IT TO THE BOARD AND WE DISCUSS IF WE'RE GONNA MAKE THAT SITUATION VALID OR INVALID.
SO IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT PEOPLE KNOW WHEN YOU'RE DOING MAIL IN BALLOTS, THAT YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS, OR IT IS A STRONG POSSIBILITY THAT YOUR VOTE WILL BE REJECTED AND IT WILL NOT.
WOW, I'M GOING TO SLOW THIS DOWN.
I'M GOING TO SLOW THIS DOWN BECAUSE WHAT YOU'VE JUST TOLD ME IS JUDGE, WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY VOTED THAT IS THEY FILLED OUT A BALLOT AND THEY RETURNED THAT BALLOT.
BUT THE VOTE THAT THEY INTENDED TO CAST IN SOME INSTANCES WAS NOT COUNTED AND IT WAS NOT COUNTED BECAUSE OF A FAILURE TO FOLLOW EXACTLY THE RULES.
SO LET US GO THROUGH THE RULES, THE BALLOT, SO THAT WE CAN HELP YOU MAKE SURE YOUR VOTE COUNTS.
SO, NUMBER ONE, LET'S SHOW THE BALLOT TO THE CITIZENS.
NOW THE FIRST THING YOU SHOWED US ON THAT BALLOT IS I WANT YOU TO FOCUS ON THIS BALLOT.
THE FIRST THING YOU'RE TELLING US AND TURN IT TO THE CAMERA FOR THE FIRST THING YOU'RE TELLING US IS WHAT'S GIMME STEP NUMBER ONE OF WHAT TO DO OR WHAT NOT TO DO.
THE FIRST THING YOU DO IS PUT DATE OF ELECTION.
THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE SOMETIMES WE MAY GET MAIL IN BALLOT FROM THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION FOR THE DECEMBER FIELD.
SO IT HAS, THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THE DATE IS INCLUDED ON THAT FIRST LINE.
SO IF YOU MAILED YOUR BALLOT IN AND YOU PUT THE WRONG ELECTION DATE AT THE TOP, THEN YOUR VOTE DOES NOT GET COUNTED.
WHAT DAY ARE WE VOTING FOR THIS TIME? THAT SHOULD GO AT THE TOP, DECEMBER 5TH, 2020 DECEMBER.
THE FIFTH SHOULD BE AT THE TOP OF YOUR BALLOT.
MAKE CERTAIN YOU PUT THE ELECTION DATE FOR DECEMBER 5TH, 2220.
YOU'RE NOT GOING TO MAKE, MAKE CERTAIN THAT YOU DATE DECEMBER THE FIFTH AT THE TOP OF YOUR BALLOT.
NEXT ISSUE, UH, MS. BOATNER, THE NEXT ISSUE IS THE VOTER SIGNATURE AND THE WITNESS SIGNATURE.
YOU MUST HAVE A WITNESS SIGNATURE, AND THAT CAN BE ANYONE.
SOMETIMES WE'VE HAD BALANCED TO COME BACK TO US WHERE THE, UH, PERSON WHO IS MAILING THE BALLOT ALSO SIGNS IN A WITNESS SPACE.
SO WE HAVE TO VERIFY SIGNATURES.
AND IF THAT HAPPENS, WE CANNOT ACCEPT IT OR AS DISCUSSED.
[00:45:01]
THEN WE DETERMINE IF WE'RE GOING TO REJECT IT AND MAKE IT VALID OR INVALID.SO YOU'VE GOT TO MAKE SURE YOU SIGN.
AND YOU'RE SAYING TO ME THAT NOT ONLY ARE YOU REQUIRED TO MAKE SURE YOU SIDE, IN EVERY CASE, YOU MUST ALSO GET A WITNESS TO SIGN IT.
IN EVERY CASE FOR MAIL-IN BALLOT, YOU MUST HAVE A WITNESS SIGNATURE, WHICH IS LISTED, RIGHT? ALL OF THE BOULDER SIGNATURE ON THE FACE OF YOUR BALLOT.
YOU MUST PUT DECEMBER THE FIFTH, YOU MUST SIGN YOUR NAME AS THE VOTER.
AND THEN NUMBER THREE, YOU MUST HAVE A WITNESS TO SIGN BELOW YOUR SIGNATURE THREE THINGS TO DO.
OTHERWISE YOUR VOTE MAY NOT COUNT.
AND IN THE ELECTION WE'VE JUST COMPLETED.
YOU MAY NOT HAVE ACTUALLY COUNTED BECAUSE YOU DID NOT FOLLOW THE RULES.
ALL RIGHT? SO THREE THINGS SO FAR, WHAT IS THE NEXT ITEM THAT YOU FOUND THAT WAS TROUBLESOME? OH, THE AFFIDAVIT FLAT, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, THIS IS WHAT WE TEAR OFF.
ONCE WE RECEIVED THE BALLOTS, SOME PEOPLE ARE DETACHING THEM.
WE CANNOT ACCEPT THAT, OR AGAIN IS DISCUSSED.
AND THEN WE DETERMINED THE DETERMINATION FROM THERE.
THIS NEEDS TO STAY ATTACHED ON THE ENVELOPE WITH THE INFORMATION OUT AND EVERYTHING NEEDS TO GO INSIDE OF THIS ENVELOPE.
THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO SEAL YOUR BAG.
OKAY? SO THE FOURTH THING YOU SHOULD REMEMBER, THE FOURTH THING THAT YOU SHOULD REMEMBER IS, DO NOT TEAR APART THE DATE OF THE ELECTION, YOUR SIGNATURE AND YOUR WITNESS SIGNATURE DO NOT SEPARATE THAT FROM THE ENVELOPE.
SO REMEMBER THAT STEP NOW, THE NEXT STEP WILL INVOLVE, AND THAT'S THE ENVELOPE.
SO, SO FAR YOU'RE MAKING ERROR.
SOME OF YOU WITH THE ENVELOPE THAT YOU'RE GOING TO PLACE YOUR BALLOT INSIDE.
SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU TAKE SPECIAL AND PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE ENVELOPE FOR THINGS ON THE ENVELOPE.
DECEMBER 5TH IS THE ELECTION THAT YOUR BALLOT IS BEING CAST YOUR SIGNATURE, A WITNESS SIGNATURE, AND DO NOT DETACH THAT FROM THE ENVELOPE.
NOW WE WILL SHIFT TO THE ACTUAL BALLOT.
LET'S NOW GO AND TALK ABOUT THE ERRORS THAT ARE MADE WHEN YOU'RE ACTUALLY MOCKING YOUR BALLOT.
AND THE ISSUES MS BOATNER HAS HAVE DESCRIBED ARE MOSTLY RELATED TO YOU.
NOT ADEQUATELY FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS, FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS, WHICH ARE TO COMPLETELY FILL OUT THAT OVAL OR THAT CIRCLE ON YOUR BALLOT FOR THE CANDIDATE THAT YOU'RE VOTING FOR.
AND MS. BOLTON HAS SHOWED US THAT SOME OF YOU ARE ACTUALLY OVER VOTING, WHICH IS AN ERROR, BECAUSE IN FACT, YOU HAVE MARKED MORE THAN ONE VOTE FOR A CANDIDATE THAT'S RUNNING FOR THE SAME OFFICE.
IF YOU DO THAT, THAT'S CALLED OVER VOTING.
AND THAT VOTE IS DISCARDED BECAUSE THE LECTORS DO NOT KNOW WHICH OF THOSE CANDIDATES YOU INTENDED TO VOTE FOR.
SO, MS. BOATNER SAYS, WHEN YOU CIRCLE YOUR BALLOT FOR THE CANDIDATE OR ISSUE, YOU'RE VOTING FOR IT, DO NOT PUT A CHECK MARK INSIDE OF THE CIRCLE, DO NOT PUT AN X INSIDE OF THE CIRCLE.
AND IT'S BECAUSE THESE SHEETS OF PAPER, YOUR BALLOT IS BEING SCANNED BY A COMPUTER MACHINE.
SO PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION AND FILL OUT THAT CIRCLE, FILL IT OUT COMPLETELY AND MAKE CERTAIN THAT YOU'RE VOTING FOR ONLY ONE OF THE MEASURES IN THAT CATEGORY OR ONE OF THE CANDIDATES THAT ARE RUNNING FOR THAT OFFICE.
ANYTHING ELSE MS. BOATNER YOU WANT TO SHARE? AND WHEN YOU'RE DONE WITH FILLING IT ALL OUT STEP, THE NEXT STEP IS TO FOLD THAT BALLOT UP AND THEN INSERT IT IN THE ENVELOPE.
AND THE LAST THING YOU SAID THAT THEY WERE TO DO IS WHAT TO SEAL IT.
YOU MUST SEAL YOUR VOTE AND HOW DO YOU SEAL IT? MS. BOLTON, YOU PUT IT IN THE ENVELOPE HERE THAT HAS THE AFFIDAVIT ATTACHMENT.
THEN YOU, YOU HAVE A STRIP HERE, REMOVE THIS STRIP AND YOU'RE GOING TO PLACE IT DOWN.
[00:50:01]
DO NOT REMOVE THE AFFIDAVIT, BUT THIS IS BASICALLY HOW YOU'RE GOING TO SEAL YOUR BALLOT.LET'S WALK US THROUGH THAT CEILING, THE BALLAD, THE GAME.
HERE IS A STRIP THAT IS REMOVED AND WASH YOU, PRESS DOWN ON IT.
IT'S GOING TO SEAL YOUR BALLOT, MAKE SURE YOUR BALLOT IS INSIDE BECAUSE WE DID HAVE SOME THAT CAME AND THEY WERE IN THE ENVELOPE, BUT THEY WASN'T IN THE ENVELOPE TO BE SEALED BECAUSE YOU ABOUT TO GET AN ENVELOPE TO PLACE IT IN, TO MAIL IT BACK.
SO IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT IT'S NOT IN THIS ENVELOPE, BUT IT'S SEALED IN THIS ONE.
OKAY? SO YOU SEAL YOUR BALLOT BY APPEALING OFF THE STRIP THAT SEALS YOUR BALLOT.
AND THEN THAT BALLOT WILL BE VALID IF YOU FOLLOW THOSE INSTRUCTIONS.
AND THEN YOU INSERT THAT BALLOT INTO AN ENVELOPE AND THE ENVELOPE IS PRE-MARKED WITH THE VOTER REGISTRARS OFFICE ON IT, OR THE SECRETARY OF STATE REGISTERED VOTER VOTER REGISTRAR'S OFFICE.
AND IT DOES NOT REQUIRE A POSTAGE STAMP.
THE POSTAGE STAMP IS 70 CENTS POSTAGE.
AND WE USUALLY TELL VOTERS TO GET THE 55 CENT STAMP, PLUS A 15 CENT STAMP.
YOU MUST PUT THE 70 CENTS POSTAGE ON YOUR ENVELOPE.
IT'S NOT, IT MAY NOT EVEN REACH US, BUT IF IT DOES, UH, USING IT AS A CONCERNED ABOUT IT BEING A LITTLE HEAVY.
SO THAT'S WHY THE POSTAGE IS 70%, 70, 70 CENTS.
SO I DIDN'T KNOW THAT BECAUSE WHEN I FILLED OUT MY, UH, VALID, UM, I FELT IT WAS A LITTLE HEAVY.
AND, UH, I, I WAS SO CONCERNED THAT I DECIDED NOT TO VOTE BY MAIL.
I DECIDED TO SHOW UP BECAUSE I WAS CONCERNED THAT ALL OF THE THINGS THAT YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT I WOULD FEEL THAT WERE, AND BECAUSE I WAS SO CONCERNED, I DECIDED NOT TO VOTE BY MAIL.
I DECIDED TO VOTE EARLY BY SHOWING UP IN PERSON.
NOW, WHEN I ARRIVED, THE VOTER REGISTRAR SAID, MR. JOHNSON, YOU HAVE A MALE INVALID REQUEST.
I SAID, HOWEVER, I'M HERE TO VOTE IN PERSON.
SO THEY WERE ABLE TO THEN UNLOCK MY, OR OPEN UP MY RIGHT TO VOTE EARLY AND REMOVE ME FROM THE MAIL INBOX.
ABSOLUTELY BECAUSE THAT IS CALLED DOUBLE VOTING.
SOME INDIVIDUALS ARE GOING, UH, WITH THE MAIL IN BALLOT, AS WELL AS GOING TO THE PRECINCT IN VOTING.
THAT'S ANOTHER ISSUE, BUT THAT THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO CATCH IT JUST LIKE THEY DID FOR YOU.
AND THEY WAS ABLE TO CORRECT THE LAW.
SO HERE'S THE STEP YOU SHOULD FOLLOW.
IF YOU'RE CONCERNED THAT YOU'RE NOT, YOU MAY NOT HAVE FOLLOWED THE RULES, THEN YOU SHOULD COME IN PERSON, COME IN PERSON AND VOTE.
AND WE DON'T WANT YOU NOT TO HAVE YOUR VOTE COUNTED BECAUSE YOU DID NOT DO EVERYTHING ACCORDING TO THE RULES.
SO WE'RE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT MAKING SURE YOUR VOTE ACTUALLY COUNTS.
LET ME ASK YOU MS. BOLTON TO SHARE WITH US NOW, WHAT DO YOU EXPECT THE TURNOUT IN DECEMBER ON THE FIFTH, DECEMBER 5TH.
WHAT DO YOU THINK DECEMBER 5TH IS REALLY CRITICAL BECAUSE IT'S A SECONDARY ELECTION AND WE SOMETIMES HAVE A LOW VOTER TURNOUT.
HOWEVER, WE'RE HOPING WITH THE MAIL-IN BALLOT IN PLACE, THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO GET A LOT OF VOTES IN.
THEY'VE BEEN MAILED OUT PER I THINK TUESDAY, YESTERDAY, THEY WILL MEET, UH, SOMEONE MAILED OUT.
UM, WE'RE HOPING THAT WE GET A HIGH VOTER TURNOUT BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE WITH THE PANDEMIC ARE IN, BUT THEY'RE MORE INTO ELECTIONS NOW, CAUSE IT'S NOT, UM, A LOT OF SITUATIONS WHERE PEOPLE ARE OUT.
SO WE'RE JUST HOPING AND EXPECTING FOR THE BEST.
UH, WE DON'T WANT TO REJECT ANYBODY'S VOTE.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE PUSHING FOR, UH, IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A GREAT NUMBER BECAUSE WE, UH, WE HAD 132% INCREASE FROM 2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, WHICH WAS GREAT FOR THE ABSENTEE VOTES.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AND HOPING THAT WE HAVE A GREAT TURNOUT.
DO WHAT DO YOU KNOW OF THE DATE BY WHICH MY MAIL-IN BALLOT MUST BE IN THE MAIL OR IS IT WHAT'S THE DEADLINE? THE DEADLINE IS GOING TO BE DECEMBER 4TH AT 4:30 PM.
[00:55:01]
GOING TO MAIL IN YOUR BALLOT, YOU HAVE GOT TO HAVE THAT BALLOT IN THE MAIL BY 4:30 PM PM ON THE DAY BEFORE THE DAY BEFORE THE ELECTION, PLEASE AUDIENCE.IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, GET ON THE PHONE WHILE YOU'RE FILLING YOUR BELT, IT OUT.
GET AN ANSWER, ASK FOR INFORMATION ABOUT FOLLOWING THE RULES, ASK FOR INFORMATION ON HOW TO FOLLOW THE RULES.
AND THE VOTER REGISTRAR'S OFFICE IS VERY, VERY CAPABLE AND VERY, VERY AWARE OF THE CHALLENGES YOU MAY FACE WITH MAKING SURE YOUR VOTE COUNTS.
SO MS. BOLTON, PLEASE SHARE WITH THE AUDIENCE HOW TO REACH OUT AND TOUCH ORGANIZATIONS OR THE VOTER REGISTRAR OR THE ORGANIZATION YOU ARE A MEMBER OF.
UH, THERE IS A DEADLINE OF DECEMBER 1ST AT FOUR 30 TO CONTACT THE REGISTER OF VOTERS OFFICE TO EVEN REQUEST THE MAIL OUT.
UH, YOU CAN, YOU DON'T HAVE TO NECESSARILY MAIL IT IN, BUT YOU CAN GO TO THE REGISTRAR OF VOTERS OFFICE AND HAND DELIVER IT.
UM, THERE'S A COALITION WITH OUR TEAM, UH, THE CLERK OF COURT OFFICE, THE REGISTER OF VOTERS, SECRETARY OF STATE AND THE BOARD SUPERVISORS.
SO WE DO WHATEVER WE CAN TO COLLABORATE, TO MAKE THIS AN EASY PROCESS FOR ELECTION.
I'D LIKE TO WELCOME KAITLIN JOSHUA, A COMMUNITY ORGANIZER, AND SHE'S WITH THE POWER COALITION, THE POWER COALITION.
I'D LIKE TO SAY TO THE AUDIENCE, WELCOME BACK TO THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SHOW.
THE POWER COALITION IS ALL ABOUT DOING WORK, NOT ONLY IN BATON ROUGE, BUT ACROSS THE STATE.
TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOU AND THEN QUICKLY TELL US ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION.
SO MY NAME IS CAITLIN BRADFORD, JOSHUA I'M WITH THE POWER COALITION FOR EQUITY AND JUSTICE.
UM, WE DO WORK YEAR ROUND TO ENGAGE VOTERS BLACK AND BROWN VOTERS SPECIFICALLY.
UM, AND WE MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE LIFTING UP THE VOICES OF BLACK AND BROWN FOLKS IN THE STATE OF LOUISIANA.
UM, WE ARE COMPRISED OF A TEAM OF ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, SO WE, OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COMMUNITY HAS THE POWER TO, UM, FEEL CONFIDENT TO VOTE DOWN THE BALLOT, BUT THEN ALSO TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE WORKING ON THEIR ISSUES YOU'RE AROUND.
UM, I PREVIOUSLY WORKED FOR STEP UP LOUISIANA, WHICH IS ANOTHER ORGANIZATION THAT'S UNDER THE UMBRELLA FOR THE POWER COALITION FOR EQUITY AND JUSTICE.
UM, DID SOME ORGANIZING AS A STATEWIDE ORGANIZER FOR ALMOST TWO YEARS.
AND NOW I AM THE BATON ROUGE AND FAITH ORGANIZER FOR POWER COALITION FOR EQUITY AND JUSTICE.
TELL US A LITTLE BIT, HOW DO YOU GET, HOW DOES YOUR ORGANIZATION GET THE MARGINALIZED, THOSE PERSONS WHO ARE APATHETIC OR DON'T CARE DON'T KNOW, AND THEN HOW DO YOU GET THE YOUNG PEOPLE OUT TO VOTE TOO? CERTAINLY.
SO THAT'S THE TRICKY PART AND I GUESS THAT'S LIKE THE BIG QUESTION THAT EVERYBODY WANTS ANSWERED.
UM, BUT THE KEY IS ACTUALLY MORE SIMPLE THAN YOU THINK, AS FAR AS GETTING MARGINALIZED FOLKS, YOU WANT TO MEET THEM WHERE THEY'RE AT.
SO WE DO A LOT OF, UM, PEER TO PEER TEXTING, A LOT OF PHONE BANKING, A LOT OF CANVASSING AS FAR AS LOGISTICS GO, UM, WHICH IS HELPFUL.
AND OF COURSE IT GETS THE WORK DONE, BUT FOR THE MOST PART, WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE TO DO THAT LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIP BUILDING.
SO THAT'S DOING THE LISTING SESSIONS AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE HAVING FORUMS SO THAT FOLKS CAN LIFT UP THEIR ISSUES AND THEIR CONCERNS AND THEIR COMMUNITY, AND REALLY PLAY BACK TO WHAT RELATES TO YOU, RIGHT? LIKE WHAT DO YOU GET UP FOR EVERY MORNING? WHAT KEEPS YOU UP EVERY NIGHT? UM, AND THEN THAT WAY YOU'RE ABLE TO ENGAGE FOLKS AND MEETING THEM WHERE THEY'RE AT AND ACTUALLY, UM, TRYING TO ADDRESS SOME OF THEIR CONCERNS.
UM, SO MARGINALIZED FOLKS, THAT'S HOW WE DO THAT.
AS FAR AS YOUNG PEOPLE, IT HAS TO BE EXCITING AND HAS TO BE FUN.
UM, SO WE DO A LOT OF LIKE SOCIAL CAUSE OF COVID.
WE DO A LOT OF SOCIALLY DISTANCE EVENTS, A LOT OF, UM, EVENTS WITH DIFFERENT LOCAL CELEBRITIES OR, UM, DIFFERENT INFLUENCERS ON INSTAGRAM.
SO IT'S A LOT OF, AND FREE EVERYTHING WITH YOUNG PEOPLE.
IT'S FREE FOOD, IF IT'S, WHY CAN YOU GIVE ME WHAT BUTTONS, WHAT CUBS, UM, CAN YOU GIVE ME? SO, UM, WE MAKE SURE THAT WE INVEST IN WHAT THEY'RE INTERESTED IN AS WELL.
AND THEN OF COURSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, UM, THEY THEY'RE, THEY'RE PEOPLE TOO, AND THEY'RE CONCERNED CITIZENS AS WELL AND VOTERS AND THEY HAVE ISSUES THAT THEY WANT TO DISCUSS AND WE WANT THAT WANT TO GENUINELY MAKE BETTER.
SO WE MAKE SURE THAT DURING THOSE EVENTS WE DO THAT AS WELL.
I HAVEN'T, I HAVE ONE FOR YOU OVER THERE.
LET ME ASK YOU ABOUT, UM, DID YOU BRING A SAMPLE BOTTLE THAT WE, WE'RE NOT GOING TO TALK ABOUT THAT WHAT WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT.
I DIDN'T BRING ONE ONLY BECAUSE OUR
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PRINTER GUY IS WORKING ON IT RIGHT NOW.I DON'T HAVE IT IN FRONT OF ME, BUT I CAN.
SO TELL ME ABOUT, UM, HOW, HOW WOULD ONE GO ABOUT LOOKING AT THE BALLOT AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE EXERCISING THEIR VOICE? ABSOLUTELY.
SO, UM, AS CHICO NANCY SAID, AND VOICE OF THE EXPERIENCE VOTE IS ONE OF THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT IS UNDER THE POWER COALITION FOR EQUITY AND JUSTICE UMBRELLA.
UM, WE DO A LOT OF CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND EDUCATION PIECES WITH OUR SAMPLE BALLOT.
SO, UM, ESSENTIALLY, LIKE YOU SAID, VOTING UP AND DOWN THE BALLOT, VOTING DOWN BALLOT.
HOWEVER YOU WANT TO SAY IT IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS ARE CONFIDENT.
AND LIKE I SAID, WE DO HAVE FORUMS WHERE FOLKS CAN GET ONLINE VIRTUALLY IN A SAFE WAY TO FIND OUT WHO THESE CANDIDATES ARE, WHAT THESE ISSUES ARE.
UM, WE DO HAVE WHAT WE CALL THE FAITH TABLE AND IT'S, UM, A HOST OF PASTORS ACROSS THE STATE, UM, PASTORS AND, UM, WITHIN OUR COALITION THAT WORK CLOSELY WITH US TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE DOING THE WORK TO TELL THEIR CONGREGATIONS ABOUT THESE SAMPLE BALLOTS.
SO THAT THEY'RE KNOW THAT THEY'RE ALWAYS AVAILABLE, UM, FOR EVERY SINGLE ELECTION.
UM, AND I ALWAYS LIKE TO SAY VOTE LOCAL, WHICH IS ALSO ON OUR, ON OUR BALLOT BECAUSE THESE LOCAL ELECTIONS DIRECTLY IMPACT YOU THE MOST.
UM, SO YOU, LIKE CHICO SAID EARLIER, YOU WANT TO VOTE FOR SCHOOL BOARD.
YOU WANT TO VOTE FOR PARISH PRESIDENT, WHICH WE HAVE COMING UP IN BATON ROUGE AND JUST A FEW SHORT WEEKS ON DECEMBER 5TH, YOU WANT TO VOTE EVERYTHING UP TO PRESIDENT.
YOU DON'T WANT TO LEAVE ANYTHING OUT.
SO WHEN IT COMES TO SAMPLE BALLOTS, WHAT YOU WANT TO DO WHEN YOU GET YOUR SAMPLE BALLOT, YOU DON'T WANT TO WAIT TILL YOU GET IN THE BOOTH TO ASK QUESTIONS OR FIND OUT WHO IS WHO YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE.
IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION RIGHT THERE ON THE SPOT, YOU CAN GO TO POWER COALITION.ORG.
WE'VE GOT FORUMS, LIVE FORUMS AVAILABLE FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO WATCH THOSE.
BUT THEN ALSO WE HAVE LIKE A, UM, AN EDUCATION PIECE ON EVERY SINGLE CANDIDATE, EVERY SINGLE BALLOT MEASURE OR AMENDMENT IS GOING TO BE AVAILABLE ON POWER COALITION.ORG.
SO AUDIENCE TO REACH POWER COALITION, TELL THEM AGAIN HOW TO GET IN CONTENT.
Y'ALL UM, WE'RE ON ALL OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS, AS WELL AS OUR OWN WEBSITE ON SOCIAL MEDIA, INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, AND TWITTER.
IT'S GOING TO BE POWERCOR COALITION FOR EQUITY AND JUSTICE.
AND THEN ON OUR WEBSITE, IT'S JUST GOING TO BE POWER COALITION.ORG.
AND LIKE I STATED, WE HAVE THE SAMPLE BALLOTS RIGHT THERE IN REAL TIME.
THOSE ARE BEING UPDATED FOR ELECTIONS COMING UP ON DECEMBER 5TH.
BUT THEN ALSO THIS FRIDAY STARTS EARLY VOTING, WHICH IS ALSO ON THAT SAMPLE BALLOT.
SO THAT'S GOING TO BE THE NOVEMBER 20TH THROUGH NOVEMBER 28TH, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF, UM, THIS COMING SUNDAY AND NOT ON THANKSGIVING OR THE DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING, THAT'S THIS THE THREE DATES THAT YOU NEED TO REMEMBER THAT YOU CAN NOT EARLY VOTE, BUT ONCE AGAIN, POWER COALITIONS.ORG TO GET ALL OF THAT INFORMATION.
I WANT TO THANK MR. JOSHUA FOR APPEARING AND SHARING THE ORGANIZATION AND HER EFFORTS.
AND THEN I WANT TO THANK YOU TOO.
I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR SERIOUSLY UPHOLDING YOUR CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY.
REMEMBER EARLY VOTING STARTS THIS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER THE 20TH VOTING IS EVERYTHING.
WE WILL REMEMBER VOTING AND WE WILL VOTE FOR OUR FUTURE.