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♪ SOLEDAD: I AM SOLEDAD O’BRIEN. WELCOME TO MATTER OF FACT. BARRIERS TO THE BALLOT ARE NOT NEW FOR BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE IN AMERICA. FROM POLL TAXES AND LITERACY TESTS TO INTIMIDATION AND PHYSICAL VIOLENCE, ALL WERE BLATANT FORMS OF EFFORTS TO SUPPRESS THE VOTE. TODAY, VOTER SUPPRESSION IS THE RESULT OF OVERLY STRICT VOTER ID LAWS, COMPLICATED RULES FOR MAIL-IN BALLOTS, EXTREME CONSOLIDATION OF POLLING PLACES, AND MASS PURGING OF VOTERS FROM ELECTION ROLLS. SOME EXAMPLES, OKLAHOMA, WHERE STATE LAW REQUIRES ABSENTEE BALLOTS TO BE NOTARIZED. TEXAS, WHERE VULNERABILITY TO COVID-19 CAN NOT BE USED AS A REASON TO GET AN ABSENTEE BALLOT. KENTUCKY, WHERE JUST ONE POLLING PLACE WAS OPEN DURING THE PRIMARY ELECTION IN JEFFERSON COUNTY, WHICH SERVES ROUGHLY 600,000 REGISTERED VOTERS. GIVEN THE PATTERNS OF SUPPRESSION EFFORTS, HOW MANY PEOPLE COULD BE TURNED AWAY FROM THE POLLS IN NOVEMBER OR FIND OUT THAT THEIR BALLOTS DID NOT COUNT? JANAI NELSON IS THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR COUNSEL OF THE NAACP’S LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATION FUND, AND A MEMBER OF ITS LITIGATION AND POLICY TEAMS. IN YOUR INTRODUCTION, I GAVE SOME EXAMPLES OF WHERE WE’RE SEEING AROUND THE COUNTRY FOR VOTER SUPPRESSION. WHAT ARE YOU FOCUSED ON LEGALLY? JANAI: WELL, WE HAVE BEEN FIGHTING A NUMBER OF VOTER SUPPRESSION TACTICS FOR FOUR YEARS, PARTICULARLY SINCE THE 2013 DECISION. WITHIN TWO HOURS OF THAT DECISION COMING DOWN, THE STATE OF TEXAS VOWED THAT IT WOULD ENACT A VERY DRACONIAN VOTER I.D. LAW THAT WOULD PREVENT MAINLY AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND LATINX VOTERS FROM HAVING ACCESS TO THE BALLOT. FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU WERE A STUDENT AT A STATE SCHOOL, THAT VOTER I.D. WAS NOT SUFFICIENT TO GIVE YOU ACCESS TO THE BALLOT. BUT IF YOU HAD A GUN CARRY PERMIT, YOU COULD VOTE. SO WE CHALLENGED THAT LAW. THE JUDGE HELD THAT THAT LAW WAS NOT ONLY INTENDED TO DISCRIMINATE, BUT IT ALSO HAD A CLEAR DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT ON PARTICULAR COMMUNITIES. AND WE ULTIMATELY WERE ABLE TO SEE THAT LAW BE REFORMED AND IMPROVED TO ALLOW A GREATER NUMBER OF VOTER I.D. TO BE ACCEPTED FOR VOTING. BUT IT’S STILL ONE OF THE STRICTEST LAWS IN THE COUNTRY. AND SINCE THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT WAS NARROWED IN 2013, 35 STATES NOW HAVE SOME FORM OF VOTER ID IN EFFECT. SOLEDAD: PLENTY OF PEOPLE WOULD SAY, HEY, YOU NEED AN I.D. TO DRIVE, YOU NEED ID TO BUY LIQUOR AT THE GROCERY STORE, WHY NOT ID TO BE ABLE TO VOTE? JANAI: YEAH, THAT’S AN EXCELLENT QUESTION, BECAUSE MANY OF US, YOU KNOW, HAVE AN I.D. IN OUR POCKETS AND AND REALLY WOULD HAVE NO PROBLEM MEETING THAT REQUIREMENT. BUT IF THEY DON’T HAVE, FOR EXAMPLE, CERTAIN DOCUMENTATION, IF THEY DON’T HAVE A BIRTH CERTIFICATE THAT’S ORIGINAL, IF THEY DON’T HAVE A UTILITY BILL IN THEIR NAME. THERE ARE MANY WAYS IN WHICH THE PRESUMPTION THAT EVERYONE HAS A VOTER I.D. IS DEEPLY, DEEPLY FLAWED. SOLEDAD: LET’S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE MAIL. ARE WE EXPECTING MORE PEOPLE TO VOTE BY MAIL JUST SIMPLY BECAUSE OF CORONAVIRUS. WHAT ARE YOUR CONCERNS AROUND MAIL-IN BALLOTS? JANAI: ABSOLUTELY. THE PANDEMIC HAS ADDED A LAYER OF OF OF DIFFICULTY TO WHAT IS ALREADY A CHALLENGING VOTING PROCESS. BUT WE MUST MAKE SURE THAT WE’VE FILLED OUT OUR BALLOTS COMPLETELY, THAT WE’VE MET ALL THE REQUIREMENTS OF OUR PARTICULAR STATE. FOR EXAMPLE, IF THERE’S A WITNESS REQUIREMENT, IF THERE’S A SIGNATURE REQUIREMENT OR IF THERE’S ANY OTHER REQUIREMENT IN YOUR PARTICULAR STATE, MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT THOSE REQUIREMENTS ARE AND YOU MEET THEM. WE HAPPEN TO BE CHALLENGING THE WITNESS REQUIREMENTS IN ALABAMA AND LOUISIANA AND OTHER PLACES BECAUSE WE’RE CONCERNED THAT THOSE REQUIREMENTS, FOR EXAMPLE, IN ALABAMA, WHERE YOU’RE REQUIRED TO HAVE TWO WITNESSES SIGN YOUR MAIL-IN BALLOT, THAT REQUIREMENT DIRECTLY CONFLICTS WITH THE GUIDANCE FROM THE CDC AND IT DIRECTLY CONFLICTS WITH WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE TRANSMISSION OF THE CORONAVIRUS. SOLEDAD: I WANT TO TURN AND TALK ABOUT FLORIDA. THERE WAS AN AMENDMENT, AS YOU WELL KNOW, THAT WOULD GIVE VOTING RIGHTS BACK TO FELONS. AND A FEDERAL APPEALS COURT HAS AGREED THAT NOW THE FELONS HAVE TO PAY THEIR FINES FIRST BEFORE THEY ARE ABLE TO VOTE. MANY SAY THIS IS SORT OF A MODERN-DAY POLL TAX. WHAT’S ACTUALLY AT WORK HERE AND HOW DO YOU SEE THIS PLAYING OUT? JANAI: SOME OF THOSE BILLS CAN BE ASTRONOMICAL AND IMPOSSIBLE FOR SOMEONE WHO IS JUST TRYING TO STABILIZE THEMSELVES TO PAY BUT WHAT’S EVEN MORE CONCERNING IS THAT THE STATE DOESN’T REALLY HAVE AN APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING HOW MUCH AN INDIVIDUAL RETURNING CITIZEN ACTUALLY OWES. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE FLORIDA RIGHTS RESTORATION COALITION, WHICH IS A WONDERFUL ORGANIZATION THAT’S BEEN AT THE HELM OF THIS EFFORT, HAS BEEN RAISING MONEY TO HELP PAY THOSE FINES AND FEES ON BEHALF OF RETURNING CITIZENS. SOLEDAD: JA