Rachel B. never imagined that when she would first meet her state house representative, she’d be on her knees.
More than 80 residents crowded into Emmanuel Mennonite Church to see Florida House Rep. Clovis Watson Jr., who represents District 20 — which includes parts of Alachua and Marion counties — speak at the Alachua County Labor Coalition’s meeting Tuesday about a range of issues, including giving felons back the right to vote.
Florida is one of four states that permanently bars felons from voting after they’ve served their time. In Maine and Vermont, felons never lose their voting rights, even when behind bars, he said.
“How can you tell someone to get it right, if you’re going take their right away,” he told the crowd. “You got people who are 35, who can’t vote now for something they did when they were 18, most of them on drug charges.”
Rachel, a Santa Fe College librarian, chose to withhold her last name to avoid embarrassing her granddaughter, who is a UF student. The Gainesville resident of two years knelt during the nearly 90-minute meeting to be near Watson as he spoke. She said she attended the meeting to get more involved in local politics.
“I can see why so many people put their trust in him,” she said.
Jhody Polk, who was imprisoned nearly seven years for home invasion and grand theft, said non-violent felons see voting as a basic right.
Polk, 33, an organizer with Say YES to Second Chances, emphasized the importance of the November 2018 election, and passed around a petition for a vote on ex-felon voting rights.
Say YES needs 700,000 signatures by Dec. 31 and currently has 124,000, she said.
“I’m not asking for a second chance,” she said, to the audience’s standing ovation. “This is my first chance. This is my only chance.”
Florida House Rep. Clovis Watson Jr., who represents parts of Alachua and Marion counties, spoke about a range of issues including felon voting rights at the Alachua County Labor Coalition’s meeting Tuesday evening at Emmanuel Mennonite Church, located at 1236 NW 18th Ave.
