00:05I'm 55 years old three Saturdays ago and I've never ever in my entire life been in a voting
00:10booth due to my criminal background due to the law and this might sound funny to you but when
00:16I was growing up they used to ask us what do you want to be when you grow up I
00:19wanted to
00:20be president I wanted to be the first African American president the timing of our enfranchisement
00:38newly enfranchisement is perfect we're gonna swing this election I think about the ex-offender
00:44community is that they could actually as a voting block be one of the single largest voting blocks
00:49in the city forcing change around issues important to them voting gives me the ability to decide how
00:56money is spent in my city and state I get all candidates in the building to come up front
01:21let's erase the barrier of ex-felon and make sure that people have access to the jobs and the
01:27opportunities okay what are we going to do about housing for ex-offenders that come out of prison
01:34and have nowhere to go you are supposedly involved in a lot of programs geared towards helping ex-felons if
01:41you do not become mayor will you still be involved in these programs to help the people voting gives
01:49you the ability to hire and fire individuals who are not doing their jobs why being able to vote to
02:03me means so much is it's allowing me now to get one step closer to actually feeling normal and it
02:11matters not actually having the right to tell you how I feel or why I'm supporting somebody or why I'm
02:17choose not to vote for somebody else just makes me feel less than so now that I'm able to I
02:22feel that I'm
02:23contributing we went around we educated the public we put up signs all over the community telling everybody
02:29that ex-felons can now vote these people want to be engaged these people want to get in the process
02:35they're happy to have the right to vote and looking forward for a chance to exercise it it's a beautiful
02:39thing
02:52we're going to vote that's what we're going to do we're going to vote we're on our way I'm excited
02:57never
02:59been before so it holds a lot of anxiety newness nervousness and excitement
03:13community united has registered over a thousand voters in basically a little less than a two-week
03:18period it's big it's big
03:25i voted for the first time i feel accomplished i'm going to vote every opportunity i get in november of
03:332016 is my next time voting getting to go in there feeling like everybody else knowing that i did
03:44something to participate in a process that's going to matter not only in my life but in this community
03:50it's empowering
