Lance Wissinger Wants You to Vote

A Former Felon Talks Prison, Second Chances, and Voting Rights

As you know, I often use this space to profile interesting people, and this month, I got to write up my recent discussion with Lance Wissinger. Lance is a voting rights advocate with the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FloridaRRC.com), a group he got involved with after his own felony conviction and prison sentence. Lance is a great guy, and I learned a lot during our talk. I think you will, too — and as always, if you want more, you can head to my YouTube channel for the full 45-minute interview.

Lance, I want to talk about your criminal record, but can you give us a quick rundown first on the FRRC and their mission? Absolutely. The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition is a group founded by Desmond Meade, a felon who lost his own right to vote for over two decades. We’ll get into this more, but the criminal justice system is a whirlpool, and once you’re in it, it becomes very hard to escape. Desmond saw people given felony convictions for crimes that were really just a bad outcome from one terrible mistake that they made. I got involved with Desmond and his fight, which was also my fight. And in 2019, he was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people.

And you guys got the law changed here in Florida, right? We did, the year before that. Amendment 4 passed in the state in 2018, which could have affected 1.4 million people. About half of them ended up being eligible because the legislature passed a bill that said you can’t get your right to vote back if you still owe any fines or fees.

Is that something the FRRC is working to change as well? We’re involved in a lot of things, but we’re definitely trying to help those people who still aren’t eligible. Often, that means simply paying their fines, which we’re able to do 100% through donations, many from individuals in a grassroots model.

What drives you to do this work? As a Christian, I’m very much for second chances. I’m also for helping people before it becomes an issue, before they go to prison. But if that happens, how can we give them that second chance? I received a second chance of my own, although it took a lot of work as well.

Can you share that side of your story with us? Yeah, absolutely. It’s hard, but it’s part of my story, and it’s part of who I am today. Back in 2003, I was about to enter the military and had already signed up with the delayed entry program. I had my career planned out ahead of me, and it was promising. I was living in Colorado, and the future seemed totally open. And then I made a mistake that messed it all up, and my life turned upside down.

You were arrested before your start date with the military? That’s correct. My dad was sick at the time, and I was worried he wouldn’t be around much longer. One night, I lost control of my car driving a buddy home after going out. Alcohol was a factor. I was thrown clear, but my buddy became entangled with the car, and he was fatally injured in the wreck. By the time I got over to him, it was too late, although I tried to revive him. He died in my arms.

That is awful. And you were so young at the time. I was. I’d never even voted, and here I was with this terrible, awful mistake that was going to change my life forever. I was devastated. My military career disappeared before it could begin — they dropped me. My father ended up passing away. I was responsible for the death of one of my best friends. And I had to spend three years on probation, waiting for my trial to begin.

When it did, I was convicted of DUI manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years in prison. I spent 4.5 years inside and was paroled for the rest of my time.

I can’t imagine that was an easy transition to make. No, it wasn’t, and it took me a while to start making progress. Prison taught me that sometimes, things happen outside of your control, but you have to take the consequences anyway. One of those incidents ended with me spending 60 days in confinement. That was my lowest point. And I realized I had nowhere to go but up.

That was the start of a journey I’m still on today. I accessed prayer materials, I started a Toastmasters chapter inside the jail, and I tried to enrich the lives of the men around me. A partner and I even won a prize in a big culinary competition. I saw how people are more likely to improve when you give them a chance and make them feel like they’re part of something, and that’s a lesson I took to heart.

And you ended up working to restore voting rights to felons like yourself upon your release? Not immediately, but yeah. The criminal justice system is a whirlpool. Once it sucks you in, it’s hard to get out again. You can become a felon for a lot of things. Even releasing a mylar balloon into the air could be a felony, if the sheriff doesn’t like you, because it’s technically harming the environment. That didn’t happen in my case, but a lot of the guys I was inside with were there for things they didn’t have a lot of control over. If you offer them a stake in something, like voting rights, they become invested in the community.

What’s it like to vote, having once lost that right? Do you get mad at people who don’t vote? First, it’s an amazing feeling. The first election season I got to take part in, I took careful notes on all the candidates, and most of the ones on my ballot were politicians I’d talked to myself. I did my homework, and I knew a lot. Of course, FRRC founder Desmond Meade and I both teared up on the day we voted. He hadn’t done that in over 20 years, and as I said earlier, I’d never voted before.

As for the second question, I don’t get mad, but I try to understand. Most of the time, people don’t vote because they think it won’t matter anyway — especially in the federal elections. I talk to them about the races that do matter. What about the people in your neighborhood? The state legislators, county commissioners, city councilors — all of those candidates are people you can talk to in person and get to know before you vote, and it has a big impact on your local community.

Where can people find your work? If you go to our website at FloridaRRC.com, you’ll find all you need to know about what we do. There’s something here for everyone, too. We’re totally nonpartisan. I’m a conservative, and a lot of the people I meet and fight for are, too. Others in the group are liberal. Our work transcends that, and that’s how we build a stronger community.