VOTING AND GODLINESS

Judy Byrne Riley, delivered at UUFEC 10/16/22

WHEN THIS FELLOWSHIP HAD A MEMBERSHIP OF 18, AND A SUNDAY MORNING ATTENDANCE OF 12 – UNLESS WE WERE HAVING A POTLUCK IN WHICH CASE ALL THE NON-UU SPOUSES CAME – WE HAD ALMOST ANY TYPE OF SUNDAY PROGRAM. WE WERE  NOT PARTICULAR.  AND WE WERE VERY INCLUSIVE. ONE SUNDAY WE HAD A VISITOR – HER FIRST TIME THERE, THAT WAS ALWAYS A THRILL!    IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY PAT AND LOU KELLOGG WERE TELLING US ABOUT THE BARGE TRIP THEY HAD TAKEN THROUGH THE FJORDS OF NORWAY.  ALL OF THE SUDDEN, THIS UNKNOWN VISITOR SCREAMED OUT “WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH GOD”!!

WE ALL FROZE.

SO I LEARNED. ALWAYS BRING SPIRITUALISM, GOD, GODDESS, DEEP FEELINGS –  INTO MY 20 MINUTES AT THIS PULPIT.

WE NEVER SAW HER AGAIN, BY THE WAY. WE THINK SHE WAS LOOKING FOR THE UNITY CHURCH AND DIDN’T LOOK VERY CLOSELY.

1. L. MENCHEN IS QUOTED AS SAYING: Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.  SO, I BRING MY IGNORANCE HERE THIS MORNING, JOINING IT WITH SOME FIGURES, NUMBERS, INFORMATION AND ONE REQUEST, WHICH I WILL TELL YOU ABOUT AT THE END..

WE HAVE A POLICY HERE THAT ISSUES ARE GOOD AND POLITICS ARE NOT TO BE PUSHED, THIS IS A NON-PARTISAN ENVIRONMENT – AT LEAST UNTIL COFFEE TIME.  SO I WILL BE VERY NEUTRAL IN MY TALK, AT LEAST AS SPECIFIC POLITICAL PARTIES ARE CONCERNED.  I MAKE NO ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT THIS CONGREGATION NOR SHOULD THIS CONGREGATION MAKE ANY ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT MY LEANINGS.

AS FOR REGISTERING TO VOTE, I KNOW I AM “PREACHING TO THE CHOIR”. DEBORAH BAKER RIAN AND I HAVE GIVEN YOU  THE OPPORTUNITY  TO REGISTER TO VOTE FOR THE PAST TWO SUNDAYS, OR TO REGISTER TO VOTE BY MAIL. WE REGISTERED NO ONE, WHICH IS A GOOD SIGN.  AT LEAST I’M ASSUMING THIS IS A REGISTERED VOTER GROUP, NOT AN APATHETIC BLOB!

IN PREPARING FOR THIS MORNING, I PULLED UP THE “CHRISTIAN VOTER GUIDE” – START SOMEWHERE, RIGHT?  THEIR MOTTO: “GROUNDED IN GOD, ROOTED IN RESEARCH”.  IT IS AN EXTENSIVE SIGHT. IT WILL HELP YOU DECIDE YOUR VOTING DECISIONS IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. THERE ARE PAGES AND PAGES, STATE BY STATE, CONGRESSPERSON BY CONGRESSPERSON, OF WHOM TO VOTE FOR. IT IS VERY SPECIFIC, VERY DEFINITIVE!!   AND I’M HERE TO TELL YOU THAT GOD IS A “ONE-PARTY VOTER” – NO DOUBT ABOUT IT!!   YOU CAN GOOGLE THE SIGHT IF YOU WANT MORE INFORMATION. CHRISTIANVOTERGUIDE.COM

THE 2020 ELECTION IN FLORIDA WAS PERFECT! EXCELLENT! NO ISSUES, NO FRAUD, NO CHEATING, NO HANGING CHADS, NO MICROSCOPIC INSPECTIONS NEEDED.

WE KNOW THAT BECAUSE ALL OF THE ELECTION OFFICIALS IN FLORIDA TOLD US SO.THE FLORIDA DIVISION OF ELECTIONS WEBSITE SAYS:

“Florida was a model for a successful election administration in the 2020 election cycle, and we continue to seek ways to improve our processes. In 2020, the Department received 262 elections Fraud Complaint forms and referred 71 of those to law enforcement or prosecuting authorities.”

LET ME THROW SOME NUMBERS AT YOU: IN 2020 THERE WERE 13,536,830 REGISTERED VOTERS – ALL PARTIES, ALL ABLE TO VOTE IN THE 2020 ELECTION.  

STATISTICS SAY THAT 77% OF THOSE ACTUALLY EXERCISED THEIR RIGHT TO VOTE, THAT’S 10,423,359  VOTES CAST.

SO THE “FLORIDA MODEL” HAD ONLY 262 ACTUAL FRAUDULENT CLAIMS. 

WOW!  THAT’S GREAT!  THAT’S AMAZING.

SO IT MAKES SENSE THEN THAT THE 2021 FLORIDA LEGISLATURE WROTE AND PASSED SENATE BILL 90. AND TO CLARIFY THIS MISHMASH OF PROTECTION AGAINST VOTER FRAUD, THEY THEN PASSED SENATE BILL 524 TO MAKE IT REAL REAL CLEAR THAT WE WILL NOT HAVE ANY VOTER FRAUD IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA!!

Here’s what those bills did:

SB 90 DECLARED: 

THIRD PARTY REGISTRANTS ( EX: LWV, NAACP, CHURCHES) CAN BE FINED UP TO $50,000 IF THEY ARE FOUND TO HAVE VIOLATED ANY OF THESE NEW RULES:

• ONLY TAKE TWO (PLUS YOUR OWN) BALLOTS TO THE VOTING PLACES AT A TIME [ THIS IS A PROBLEM FOR ELDERLY, STUDENTS, THOSE WITHOUT TRANSPORTATION; NO “BALLOT HARVESTING!”
• ALL BALLOT BOXES MUST BE MONITORED BY A PERSON, NOT A CAMERA [STAFF IS NEEDED, THAT COSTS $$]
• THERE MAY BE NO MORE BALLOT DROP BOXES! NONE!
• IF YOU ARE REGISTERING SOMEONE YOU MUST TELL THE PERSON YOU THAT  “might not turn in their voting registration forms in time.” WELL, THAT’S DISCOURAGING!
• YOU MUST REGISTER EVERY 2 YEARS TO RECEIVE A VOTE BY MAIL BALLOT – NOT 4 AS BEFORE.
• YOU MAY NOT GIVE OUT WATER OR FOOD TO THOSE WAITING IN LINE, NO MATTER HOW LONG THEY HAVE BEEN THERE!  LET ‘EM DROP!
• WHILE THE ORGANIZATION CAN BE FINED $50K, The new law increases financial penalties for actors who alter voter registration forms to $1,000 per violation.

AND SB 524 (PASSED TO CLARIFY THE FIRST MESS) DOES ANOTHER VERY IMPORTANT VOTER PROTECTION ITEM:

• Establishes the 25-person “Office of Election Crimes and Security” under the Secretary of State’s office to “look into voting irregularities or illegalities,”  
• THE COST TO PROTECT YOU FROM THOSE PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED 71 BALLOTS TURNED OVER TO LAW ENFORCEMENT (OF THE 562 REFERRED TO THE STATE ELECTIONS OFFICE) HAS BEEN GIVEN A BUDGET OF  $1.2 MILLION. THAT’S $16,901.14 PER VOTE!

FEELING SAFE??  FEEL LIKE YOUR VOTE IS SECURE?

SOME OF THOSE PROVISIONS, CHALLENGED BY THE LWV, NAACP, ACLU AND OTHERS, WERE OVERTURNED. BUT THE STATE  APPEALED (ON THE GROUNDS THAT IT WAS A PARTISAN JUDGE (OBAMA APPOINTED) WHO MADE THAT DECISION) AND IT STANDS UNTIL THE APPEALS PROCESS IS COMPLETE.

WELL, AT LEAST YOU CAN VOTE. 

IN 1926 WOMEN GOT THE RIGHT TO VOTE. IN 1965 THE “VOTING RIGHTS ACT” WAS PASSED SO…  EVERYONE CAN VOTE, RIGHT?

NOT SO FAST.

IN FLORIDA THERE WERE 1.4 MILLION FELONS WHO COULD NOT VOTE. MOST WERE PEOPLE OF COLOR. 

FLORIDA HAS BEEN ONE OF NINE STATES IN WHICH DISENFRANCHISED FELONS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO VOTE – EVER, UNLESS THAT RIGHT WAS RESTORED. AND A FELON IN FLORIDA  COULD HAVE THEIR VOTING RIGHTS RESTORED ONLY BY THE FLORIDA CABINET – EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY.

 IN NOVEMBER OF 2018,  64 percent of Floridians voted in favor of Amendment 4. THIS AMENDMENT WAS A CITIZENS INITIATIVE, GARNERING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF SIGNATURE TO ADD AMENDMENT 4 TO THE CONSTITUTION. 

 The amendment ordered the possibility of automatic vote restoration for those 1.4 million Floridians who couldn’t vote because of past felonies.

AS THE AMENDMENT READS,  THIS “restores the voting rights of Floridians with felony convictions after they complete all terms of their sentence including parole or probation.”

ONE FORMER FELON, AFTER 20+ YEAR OF PERFECT CITIZENSHIP, HAVING BECOME A MINISTER AND WANTING TO VOTE, WAS TURNED DOWN. “MAY I ASK WHY?” HE ASKED.  “YOU CAN ASK BUT WE DON’T HAVE YOU TELL YOU,” SAID THE GOVERNOR.

THE AMENDMENT PASSED BY 64%. 

SO THEY COULD VOTE NOW, RIGHT?

NOPE, SAID THE LEGISLATURE. THEY HAVE TO SHOW COMPLETION OF “PAYMENT OF ALL RESTITUTION, FEES AND FINES.”  FOR SOME,  THIS COULD BE THOUSANDS. FLORIDA HAS WHAT’S KNOWN AS “CASH REGISTER JUSTICE.” 

 The Accused must pay perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund court costs, jails, and “crime prevention” programs. The legislature sets minimum charges, but courts often have discretion to maximize them. Floridians convicted of a felony have to pay to obtain that public defender ($100 to $1,000) and to even reinstate a suspended driver’s license ($60 to $500). DID YOU Receive medical treatment in prison? You’re on the hook for the cost. You can pay it out of your inmate bank deposit – which you or your supporters fund, but maintaining banking services behind bars will cost you $6 a month.

ONE WANTABE VOTER HAD $190,000 due, but her judge made clear that she has no criminal sentence obligations left after he converted her debt into a civil lien, toward which she pays $100 a month.  HER SENTENCE WAS COMPLETE. HER OBLIGATION WAS COMPLETE.

BUT ONCE THE LEGISLATURE “ADJUSTED” THE AMENDMENT 4,  SHE STILL COULD NOT VOTE.

THIS POLITICAL FOOTBALL WENT TO THE COURTS, WHOSE JUDGE SAID “WRONG!” SHE CAN VOTE. AND THE GOVERNOR APPEALED AND SAID “NO” AND THE 11TH COURT OF APPEALS, DECIDED THAT “RETURNING CITIZENS” (FELONS WHO HAVE PAID THEIR DEBT TO SOCIETY) HAD TO PAY ALL LEGAL FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS  (LFOs) THAT ARISE FROM A  FELONY CONVICTION”

IN OTHER WORDS: “NOPE, SHE CAN’T VOTE.”

A “RETURNING CITIZEN” MAY REGISTER, IF THEY CAN TRUTHFULLY SAY ALL OF THEIR OBLIGATIONS HAVE BEEN COMPLETED.” AT THAT POINT, TO VERIFY WHAT WAS ON THE REGISTRATION FORM,  THEIR REGISTRATION GOES TO THE DIVISION OF ELECTIONS. ONCE THAT OFFICE APPROVES THE REGISTRATION, THE “RETURNING CITIZEN” CAN VOTE. THAT APPROVAL IS NOT EASY – RECORDS ARE OFTEN SCARCE, BURIED OR EVEN NOT AVAILABLE.

IN 2020 that division HAD A STAFF OF 20 TO REVIEW THE DATABASES, TO DETERMINE ELIGIBILITY TO VOTE RESTORED BY AMENDMENT 4.  IN APRIL OF 2020, BEFORE THE AUGUST PRIMARY, THERE WERE 85,000 WAITING TO BE APPROVED. AND THERE ARE STILL THOUSANDS OF REGISTRATIONS WAITING TO BE APPROVED.

SO, MY FRIENDS, ALL REGISTERED AND READY, WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE YOU. 

• MANY HAVE VOTED ALREADY, MAILED IT IN.
• SOME OF YOU WILL GO ON NOVEMBER 8.
• IF YOU HAVEN’T VOTED AND WANT TO SEE THE BALLOT YOU CAN GO TO “GOVOTE-OKALOOSA.COM”
• EARLY VOTING IS FROM OCTOBER 24- NOVEMBER 5 AT FIVE LOCATIONS IN THE COUNTY, FROM 7 – 7. 
• WANT TO SEE HOW MUCH MONEY EVERYONE IS SPENDING? GO TO THE SUPERVISOR’S WEBSITE UNDER “CANDIDATES” AND GO TO “CAMPAIGN FINANCIAL REPORTS.”

THE NEW RULES IN OKALOOSA DIDN’T CHANGE MUCH: 

• BALLOT BOXES WERE ALREADY AT STAFFED LOCATIONS LIKE SOE  OFFICES. 
• WE DON’T HAVE LINES USUALLY, SO HANDING OUT PIZZA IN THE NAME OF YOUR CANDIDATE WAS NEVER AN ISSUE. 

BUT, HERE IS MY ONE BALLOT REQUEST:

AS NOTED THIS IS NOT A POLITICAL OR PARTISAN TWENTY MINUTES. I ASK YOUR FORGIVENESS – NOT APPROVAL, FORGIVENESS ALWAYS BETTER SINCE IT’S AFTER THE FACT. 

I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO VOTE NO ON AMENDMENT TWO. THERE ARE THREE AMENDMENTS ON THE BALLOT PUT ON BY THE LEGISLATURE (THERE’S ONE ON THE BACK). NUMBER 2 CALLS FOR “ABOLISHING THE CONSTITUTION REVISION COMMISSION” (CRC).’

THERE ARE THREE WAYS YOU CAN CHANGE OUR STATE CONSTITUTION: 1) BALLOT INITIATIVE (AMENDMENT 4 – VOTER RESTORATION AMENDMENT), 2) APPROVED BY  THE LEGISLATURE TO GO ON THE BALLOT,  AND 3) THE CRC

The CRC is a 37-member commission provided for in the Florida constitution that sets its own rules and procedures. Florida is the only state with a commission that can refer constitutional amendments to the ballot for voter approval or denial.

IN 1998 I WAS FORTUNATE TO BE APPOINTED TO THAT EVERY-TWENTY-YEAR COMMISSION BY GOVERNOR CHILES. OF THE 37 MEMBERS,  I WAS  ONE OF ONLY 9 WOMEN, ONE OF THE VERY FEW NOT A LAWYER AND THE ONLY ONE FROM THE PANHANDLE. MY SERVICE ON THE TWO YEAR COMMISSION WAS PERHAPS THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY PERSONAL COMMUNITY SERVICE WORK -LOCAL, STATE AND NATIONAL – OVER 30+YEARS. BECAUSE OF THE POLITICAL MAJORITY OF SENATE, HOUSE (R) AND GOVERNORSHIP  (D) IT WAS, UNUSUALLY, POLITICALLY  BALANCED. 

VOTERS APPROVED ALL but ONE OF OUR THIRTEEN AMENDMENTS ON THA BALLOT. THE CRC OF 2018 HAD EIGHT AMENDMENTS,  ALL PASSED.  BUT some ENDED UP IN THE COURTS, CHARGED THEY WERE “unconstitutionally composed of multiple subjects or contained inaccurate or misleading language”. 

THE LEGISLATURE PUT THE  SAME ELIMINATION AMENDMENT  ON THE BALLOT FOR VOTERS IN 1980. IT FAILED THEN, TOO – BY A WIDE MARGIN. AS I SINCERELY HOPE THIS ONE FAILS.

IT IS CLEAR THAT FLORIDA LEGISLATURE, NO MATTER THE PARTY IN POWER, DOES NOT WANT CITIZENS TO PUT AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION ON THE BALLOT. THEY WANT TO DO IT! AND ONLY THEM! THEY HAVE EVEN RAISED THE THRESHOLD THAT AMENDMENTS MUST HAVE  – 60% NOW, NOT A SIMPLE MAJORITY, TO WIN. 

SO, THAT’S ENOUGH. TAKE THE “SWAG” PROVIDED BY OUR OWN PAUL LUX, OKALOOSA’S SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS.

NOW GO VOTE!! IN PERSON OR BY MAIL, EARLY OR ON NOVEMBER 8. BUT VOTE!! TAKE YOUR FRIENDS TO VOTE, YOUR NEIGHBORS!

AND YOU WILL NOT FIND ANY BALLOT BOXES IN OKALOOSA COUNTY – OR ANY COUNTY IN THIS STATE!!

IN OKALOOSA, I’M TOLD BY PAUL LUX, IN PREVIOUS YEARS, DROP LOCATIONS COLLECTED BALLOTS IN LARGE ORANGE LOCKED SATCHELS.  BUT A FEW YEARS AGO, WITH MONEY IN THE COFFERS, THEY BOUGHT FREE STANDING BALLOT BOXES, SIMILAR TO A SMALL MAILBOX.  SINCE BALLOT BOXES ARE NO LONGER ALLOWED, THE STICKER ON THE SIDE OF THOSE BALLOT BOXES NOW READS: 

SECURE BALLOT INTAKE STATION.

AS JOHN LEWIS SAID: 

The vote is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have.

GO BE NON-VIOLENT!

MY VOTE!     MY VOICE!     MY RIGHT!

Sources (partial): League of Women Voters, website,  Florida Division of Elections,  Christian Voter Guide,  Daily News, 9-7-22, ACLU, website,  NAACP, website