This is Sarah. Nothing fires her up quite like helping her community. She fought for these new streetlights. I stick with it until it happens. That’s pretty much how I work. [LAUGHS] Regular trash collection. And everybody said that would never happen. They are not going to have garbage pickup in Northaven. And the quarter-million-dollar renovation of this park. My purpose is to serve and to serve others and be a part of change for the good. It’s safe to say any neighborhood would be damn lucky to have her. But in her effort to improve her small corner of the world, there’s one thing Sarah isn’t allowed to do. I can’t vote. Tennessee Tennessee. Tennessee. Welcome to Tennessee. We don’t have democracy. In Tennessee violations of the Voting Rights Act. Lowest score when it comes to democracy. Sarah has lived here since she was a kid. It’s where she raised her children and her grandchildren and where she now heads her neighborhood association. I am your president. But it’s also where, back in 1992, I got into a fight with a lady. It was a choice that I made in the heat of a moment that changed my life forever. Sarah was convicted of aggravated assault. And like nearly all Americans convicted of a felony, Sarah lost her right to vote. But if Sarah lived in almost any other state, she’d be able to get her voting rights back. Gov. Steve Sisolak signed a bill today that restores the right to vote. Restoring voting rights to 50,000-plus Minnesotans. Because keeping people from voting after they’ve paid their debt to society is unfair and undemocratic. But not Tennessee. Its Republican-controlled government continues to march proudly in the opposite direction. As a result, 21 percent of Black adults in Tennessee have lost their right to vote because of a felony conviction. Its the highest rate in the country. That’s over 200,000 people. The good news is Tennessee has a path for reclaiming voting rights. The bad news is the process is absurdly complicated. Here’s what the Tennessee bureaucrats lined up for Sarah if she wants to vote in November. First, the state requires her to restore what are called her rights of citizenship. There’s a couple of ways to do this. She could file a request for the governor to pardon her, which includes gathering five letters of recommendation, writing a cover letter, writing a detailed, one-page narrative of her crime and tracking down a certified copy of your criminal history report; certified copy of each judgment conviction for which you are requesting a pardon; certified copy of the order granting probation; certified copy of the orders of discharge from the probation and/or parole; copies of diplomas, degrees, certificates and professional licenses; certified copies of any outstanding fines or forfeitures. Also, out of everyone who applied for clemency in the last fiscal year, only 3 percent were granted. Her other option is to hire a lawyer and try to convince a judge to restore her rights. This will cost her at least a couple grand and who doesn’t have a couple grand lying around? And many more grands if she needs to appeal. And get this: She’ll also need to convince a judge to give her her gun rights back, because in Tennessee the right to bear arms is a right of citizenship. So if Sarah wants to restore her voting rights, the judge must also restore her gun rights. What? But wait. There’s more. Sarah needs to get her hands on a document called a certificate of restoration, which certifies that she’s completed her probation and paid off all her court costs and restitution. She could ask a probation officer to fill it out, but they may send her to the county clerk’s office, who is going to need her to pay off any outstanding fines or fees she might have. She’s pretty sure she’s paid off all her debts, but she’ll need the paperwork to prove it. And then she’ll have to return to the clerk’s office again, hoping they’ll fill out the form. If Tennessee lawmakers designed this process to keep nearly half a million people from voting, they’ve been wildly successful. Guess how many have succeeded in restoring their voting rights between 2020 and 2022? Less than 1 percent. Makes me feel like they are saying I’m not a citizen. You’re just here, like I’m a foreigner in my own country. It makes you want to give up. Healthy democracies represent the will of the people. So when a state prevents nearly 10 percent of adults from voting, the process is broken. Some might say that’s the price of doing crime. But don’t we believe in rehabilitation? In 2020 voting rights groups sued the State of Tennessee. The case is awaiting trial. But there’s another way for the state to restore voting rights. Gov. Bill Lee could follow the example of fellow Republican governor Kim Reynolds, who used her executive power to do this. Quite simply, when someone serves their sentence and pays the price our justice system has set for their crimes, they should have their right to vote restored automatically, plain and simple. So what’s the holdup, Governor Lee? You worried Sarah will turn Tennessee blue? [VOICE OFF CAMERA] Who do you think you would vote for? I might vote for Trump. [LAUGHS] I might get banned from everything [LAUGHS] if I tell ‘em I’m going to vote for Trump. But, hey. [MUSIC PLAYING]