He calls it a Jim Crow law.
Desmond Meade — along with approximately one in five of Florida's black residents — won't be able to vote in this election because of the state's felon disenfranchisement law, passed in 2011 by Republican Gov. Rick Scott.
"There is no doubt in my mind that this law is a Jim Crow law," said Meade, who was released from prison 12 years ago. "It's like an eternal persecution."
In total, 1.7 million felons in Florida will be barred from casting a ballot, according to The Sentencing Project, a criminal justice reform organization.
And with the crucial battleground state's polls so close, those are enough votes to have swung the election.
Meade is the focus of the latest episode of the Trail Tapes, an original series about people with unorthodox relationships to the election. You can watch the video profile about Desmond above, listen to the podcast below, or check out all of the podcast episodes on iTunes.
