TAMPA, Fla — Newly released body cam footage from August shows the moment that voting in the 2020 election landed Tampa resident Romona Oliver in handcuffs.
"We have a warrant for your arrest," said one of the arresting officers in the video.
"For what?" said Oliver.
"For voter fraud," said the officer.
Oliver was one of 20 people with past felony convictions—linked to the murder or sexual offenses—who were arrested for illegally voting in Florida.
"I'm like voter fraud? I voted, but I didn't commit no fraud," said Oliver in the footage.
Oliver is facing two third-degree felonies for "false affirmation in connection with an election" and "voting by an unqualified elector."
That's because according to our state's fourth amendment—which was updated in 2019—people with specific felony convictions can't have their voting rights restored unless they appeal to the state's clemency board.
Florida 4th Amendment by ABC Action News on Scribd
However, Oliver's attorney Mark Rankin tells ABC Action News that she didn't know she was barred from voting when she registered for a state-approved Voter ID and later voted in the election.
"You know she was told twice by the supervisor of elections or the state that she was eligible. She was sent a voter registration card on two different occasions and wasn't taken off the voter rolls until Spring of 2022," he said, "She didn't understand why she was being arrested that day."
But state senator Jeff Brandes—who led the 2018-2019 push to amend our state constitution and restore voting rights to many with felony convictions—says this was never the intention of that law.
"In the legislation, we said that we understood that there was going to be some confusion and that the only people that should be prosecuted were those who did it willfully," he said.
Brandes goes on to say that he wouldn't be surprised if the charges are reduced because it may be tricky to prove "willful intent" in several of these cases.
And he adds that the state should focus on educating people to avoid any confusion.
"Let's notify first and prosecute last," Brandes said.
And when it comes to verifying whether or not someone is eligible to vote, the folks at the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC) say there's technology out there that can help make the process faster in Florida.
"If we could get an immediate verification process like other states have, in which we can know immediately whether they are or eligible, then we could save so much time and angst," said the FRRC Deputy Director Neil Volz.
That said, the civil rights advocacy group says that as the general election looms, they also know there will be more confusion.
To help, they have a call center that you can use to help get answers about voter eligibility in real-time.
"You can talk to somebody who can help provide some more clarity and get connected with an attorney who provides more clarity," he said.
You can call the hotline at 1-877-698-6830.
Oliver isn't the only Bay area resident arrested in this August 2022 sweep. Tony Patterson was also taken into custody and charged with "election voting by unqualified voter" and "false swearing." He is due back in court on October 20.
You can watch the full body cam video of his arrest below :
