{"id":14652,"date":"2018-10-19T15:18:53","date_gmt":"2018-10-19T19:18:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mdcthereporter.com\/?p=14652"},"modified":"2021-01-20T13:37:57","modified_gmt":"2021-01-20T18:37:57","slug":"desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\/","title":{"rendered":"Desmond Meade Spent Three Years in Prison\u2014Now He Wants His Voting Rights Back"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo
Right To Vote: Desmond Meade, an MDC alumnus, leads the charge to pass Amendment 4, which would restore voting rights to convicted felons who have served their time.
PHOTO COURTESY OF DESMOND MEADE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Desmond Meade wants his voting rights back.<\/span><\/p>\n

Almost two decades ago, Meade spent three years in prison after a drug charge conviction. After prison, Meade fought through homelessness to attain a bachelor’s degree from Miami Dade College and a law degree from Florida International University.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, the 51-year-old is president of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, an organization working to restore voting rights to convicted felons through Amendment 4. The amendment is on the ballot next month; it seeks to allow felons who served their time to regain the right to vote without the need to appear before a clemency board so long as they have completed all terms of their sentence, including parole or probation. The amendment does not automatically grant rights to people convicted of murder or sexual offenses.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve already paid my debt, that\u2019s the bottom line,\u201d Meade said. <\/span><\/p>\n

Meade, who currently lives in Orlando, is a sterling example of redemption. But his resurrection didn\u2019t happen overnight. He spent years living in a homeless shelter after prison as he sought ways to better himself. That led him to libraries in downtown Miami. He used the Metromover to shuttle himself between the main public library, libraries at courthouses and, eventually, the library at Wolfson Campus.<\/span><\/p>\n

When he was 38, Meade enrolled at MDC\u2019s downtown campus. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPart of me wanting to get a college degree was me wanting to do something that would make me feel better about myself,\u201d Meade said. \u201cBeing able to attend MDC gave me the opportunity to do so.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

That original goal led him to another calling: community service. Meade began working with MDC\u2019s Institute for Civic Engagement and Democracy<\/span><\/a>, led by Joshua Young.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDesmond is one of the most inspirational leaders and people I\u2019ve ever met,\u201d Young said. \u201cThrough our office, he got involved in all kinds of service projects. He was a very enthusiastic participant and did an excellent job in getting his classmates involved in service.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Meade also used the work being done by his Wolfson Campus professors Samantha Carlo, Mercedes Medina and Danixia Cuevas as a model.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve been champions of justice,\u201d Meade said. \u201cWhat I looked at at the end of the day was that they were engaged in activities that empowered people of color. That gave people hope.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Meade graduated from North Campus\u2019 criminal justice program in 2010 and from Florida International University\u2019s law school in 2014, all while working with the FRRC. However, due to his conviction, he can\u2019t practice law until his rights are restored.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meade\u2019s work isn\u2019t limited to the FRRC. He is also the chair of Floridians for a Fair Democracy, the political committee sponsoring the amendment, and has received support from organizations such as the ACLU, NAACP and the Florida League of Women Voters.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cService to others services your own community,\u201d Meade said. \u201cThat\u2019s the biggest honor you can have.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Juan Mendieta, director of communications for MDC, said in a statement that MDC believes in restoring the rights of felons as it then leads to drops in incarceration.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>People who\u2019ve paid their debt to society deserve a second chance and all studies show that once these people register to vote and take other steps to participate in society, their rate of recidivism and reincarceration drops dramatically,\u201d Mendieta said.<\/span><\/p>\n

That is the goal of Amendment 4. Florida is one of four states\u2014the others being Iowa, Kentucky and Virginia, with 23 other states restoring rights since 1997\u2014 to disenfranchise felons from voting, as the original state constitution prohibited the restoration of these rights and subsequent revisions never adapted. This applies to approximately 1.6 million residents, about ten percent of the voting-age population.<\/span><\/p>\n

Under Governor Rick Scott, who is also the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate, felons must appear before a clemency board in Tallahassee\u2014currently chaired by Scott, along with Attorney General Pam Bondi, Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis\u2014and appeal for their rights to be restored. Since 2011, the office has heard more than 100,000 cases and restored about 2,000 rights, leaving more than 20,000 cases pending.<\/span><\/p>\n

In February, a federal district judge in Tallahassee ruled the board unconstitutional, but the ruling was later stayed by the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.<\/span><\/p>\n

In response to this process, the amendment hopes to provide another method for felons\u2014\u201creturning citizens,\u201d as the FRRC labels them\u2014to re-engage in society.<\/span><\/p>\n

The amendment has received some pushback, mainly in Republican circles. Congressman Ron DeSantis, the Republican nominee for governor, said in a September interview<\/a> with the <\/span><\/span><\/span>Tampa Bay Times <\/span><\/i><\/span>that he doesn\u2019t support an \u201cautomatic restoration of voting rights\u201d for felons. His Democratic opponent, Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum, has voiced support for the amendment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meade\u2019s dream culminates next month as Florida voters weigh whether or not to pass Amendment 4, which requires 60 percent of the vote to pass. In a September University of North Florida poll of likely voters, 71 percent were likely to vote \u201cYES\u201d to the measure while 21 remain unopposed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a question of justice and values and what\u2019s so clearly right and wrong,\u201d Young said.\u201d He reminds me of [United States Congressman] John Lewis because he\u2019s so sincere. He\u2019s on the right side of history.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Desmond Meade wants his voting rights back. Almost two decades ago, Meade spent three years in prison after a drug charge conviction. After prison, Meade fought through homelessness to attain a bachelor’s degree from Miami Dade College and a law degree from Florida International University. Today, the 51-year-old is president of the Florida Rights Restoration […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":466,"featured_media":14653,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2748,2753],"tags":[291,1115,1517],"class_list":{"0":"post-14652","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"category-north-campus","9":"category-wolfson-campus","10":"tag-florida","11":"tag-voting-rights","12":"tag-amendment-4"},"yoast_head":"\nMDC Alumnus Desmond Meade Wants His Voting Rights Back<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Desmond Meade is fighting to regain his voting rights after a drug conviction almost two decades ago sent him to prison for three years.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MDC Alumnus Desmond Meade Wants His Voting Rights Back\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Desmond Meade is fighting to regain his voting rights after a drug conviction almost two decades ago sent him to prison for three years.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Reporter: The Student Newspaper at Miami Dade College\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-10-19T19:18:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-01-20T18:37:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Meade2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1944\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1296\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Corbin Bolies\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Corbin Bolies\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Corbin Bolies\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/69cb1fbaf1d4df97c7e521478622c849\"},\"headline\":\"Desmond Meade Spent Three Years in Prison\u2014Now He Wants His Voting Rights Back\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-10-19T19:18:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-01-20T18:37:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":929,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/Meade2.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Florida\",\"voting rights\",\"amendment 4\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"North Campus\",\"Wolfson Campus\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\\\/\",\"name\":\"MDC Alumnus Desmond Meade Wants His Voting Rights Back\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/Meade2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-10-19T19:18:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-01-20T18:37:57+00:00\",\"description\":\"Desmond Meade is fighting to regain his voting rights after a drug conviction almost two decades ago sent him to prison for three years.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/Meade2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/Meade2.jpg\",\"width\":1944,\"height\":1296,\"caption\":\"Fight To Vote: Desmond Meade sits with two \\\"returning citizens\\\" outside the Capitol in Tallahassee. Meade is working to pass Amendment 4 next month. The amendment seeks to allow felons who served their time to regain the right to vote without the need to appear before a clemency board. PHOTO COURTESY OF XAVIER MCCLEARY\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Desmond Meade Spent Three Years in Prison\u2014Now He Wants His Voting Rights Back\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Reporter: The Student Newspaper at Miami Dade College\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MDC The Reporter\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/08\\\/R_reporter_logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/08\\\/R_reporter_logo.png\",\"width\":315,\"height\":309,\"caption\":\"MDC The Reporter\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/69cb1fbaf1d4df97c7e521478622c849\",\"name\":\"Corbin Bolies\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/R_reporter_logo-1-1-125x125.png\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/R_reporter_logo-1-1-125x125.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/R_reporter_logo-1-1-125x125.png\",\"caption\":\"Corbin Bolies\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/author\\\/corbin-bolies\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"MDC Alumnus Desmond Meade Wants His Voting Rights Back","description":"Desmond Meade is fighting to regain his voting rights after a drug conviction almost two decades ago sent him to prison for three years.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"MDC Alumnus Desmond Meade Wants His Voting Rights Back","og_description":"Desmond Meade is fighting to regain his voting rights after a drug conviction almost two decades ago sent him to prison for three years.","og_url":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\/","og_site_name":"The Reporter: The Student Newspaper at Miami Dade College","article_published_time":"2018-10-19T19:18:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-01-20T18:37:57+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1944,"height":1296,"url":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Meade2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Corbin Bolies","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Corbin Bolies","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\/"},"author":{"name":"Corbin Bolies","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/#\/schema\/person\/69cb1fbaf1d4df97c7e521478622c849"},"headline":"Desmond Meade Spent Three Years in Prison\u2014Now He Wants His Voting Rights Back","datePublished":"2018-10-19T19:18:53+00:00","dateModified":"2021-01-20T18:37:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\/"},"wordCount":929,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Meade2.jpg","keywords":["Florida","voting rights","amendment 4"],"articleSection":["News","North Campus","Wolfson Campus"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\/","url":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\/","name":"MDC Alumnus Desmond Meade Wants His Voting Rights Back","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Meade2.jpg","datePublished":"2018-10-19T19:18:53+00:00","dateModified":"2021-01-20T18:37:57+00:00","description":"Desmond Meade is fighting to regain his voting rights after a drug conviction almost two decades ago sent him to prison for three years.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Meade2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Meade2.jpg","width":1944,"height":1296,"caption":"Fight To Vote: Desmond Meade sits with two \"returning citizens\" outside the Capitol in Tallahassee. Meade is working to pass Amendment 4 next month. The amendment seeks to allow felons who served their time to regain the right to vote without the need to appear before a clemency board. PHOTO COURTESY OF XAVIER MCCLEARY"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/desmond-meade-spent-three-years-in-prison-now-he-wants-his-voting-rights-back\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Desmond Meade Spent Three Years in Prison\u2014Now He Wants His Voting Rights Back"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/","name":"The Reporter: The Student Newspaper at Miami Dade College","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/#organization","name":"MDC The Reporter","url":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/R_reporter_logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/R_reporter_logo.png","width":315,"height":309,"caption":"MDC The Reporter"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/#\/schema\/person\/69cb1fbaf1d4df97c7e521478622c849","name":"Corbin Bolies","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/R_reporter_logo-1-1-125x125.png","url":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/R_reporter_logo-1-1-125x125.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/R_reporter_logo-1-1-125x125.png","caption":"Corbin Bolies"},"url":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/author\/corbin-bolies\/"}]}},"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"Fight To Vote: Desmond Meade sits with two \"returning citizens\" outside the Capitol in Tallahassee. Meade is working to pass Amendment 4 next month. The amendment seeks to allow felons who served their time to regain the right to vote without the need to appear before a clemency board. <br \/> PHOTO COURTESY OF XAVIER MCCLEARY","source_text":"","source_url":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/466"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14652"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14652\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}