The voting rights activist joined WSLR’s Rap Sessions to discuss his campaign.
By Ed James III
Original Air Date: July 17, 2026
Host: We are continuing our series of candidate profiles. Today, we are trimming the spotlight on an unusual candidate in the governor’s race: an independent who was convicted, served time and then went on to get a law degree and spearhead a citizen-driven constitutional amendment that passed in 2018. Ed James III, host of Rap Sessions—the new public affairs podcast powered by WSLR—interviewed Desmond Meade at WSLR this week.
Ed James III: Desmond Meade is a voting rights activist, and now he is running for Florida Governor. He led the 2018 ballot initiative that restored voting rights to over 1.4 million returning citizens in Florida. I asked Meade to explain the process of getting a ballot initiative approved in Florida.
Desmond Meade | Photo: Werner
Desmond Meade: Florida is the toughest state to pass a ballot initiative. You have to collect tons and tons of signatures from people throughout the state, and there are tough rules that the Florida legislature creates to make it even harder for folks to do it.
EJ: Verification.
DM: Yep. Verification—all kinds of roadblocks. Then, if you’re lucky enough to collect enough petitions to get it on the ballot, now you have to convince the supermajority of voters. I think, every other state, you just need the majority—50 plus one. In the state of Florida, you need a supermajority. They’re trying to make it even harder for citizen initiatives to pass. It’s an enormous task, but we were able to do it because we were an organization and an effort that was based around grassroots involvement. We were an organic grassroots movement that I like to tell people welcomed and enjoyed bipartisan support.
EJ: During our discussion, Meade emphasized the importance of how we refer to people who have served prison time. He advocates for the use of the term “returning citizen” instead of “felon” or “ex-con.”
Jackson Rothman (left), Desmond Meade (middle) and Ed James III (right). | Photo: Werner
DM: To dehumanize people who have been impacted by the criminal justice system—we’re inadvertently dehumanizing our own family members—people who we love. But we don’t recognize that because we think about, “Oh, it’s just other people that we’re talking about,” but the reality is that you’re putting your own family member or someone that you love in that category of dehumanization.
If anybody has kids, especially if they have boys, they know that boys are always going to do something crazy. They’re going to do something boneheaded. You want to grab them, like, “What the heck were you thinking about?”
EJ: Meade is running for Florida Governor in 2026 as a No Party Affiliated candidate. I asked him about his platform and his decision to run without a major party affiliation.
DM: I’m running as a No Party Affiliated candidate because, quite frankly, both parties have let Floridians down. Both parties have, one way or another. The evidence is right there, smack in the center. I face it every single day. When we’re struggling to make ends meet—when we’re suffering with runaway insurance costs, homeowner’s insurance costs—when people are forced to move out of the state of Florida because they just can’t afford to live here, it’s because both parties have let us down.
I’m running as an NPA because Floridians deserve much better than that. When you stop and think about it right now, one of the things that you always hear politicians say is, “We’re doing the will of the people.” That is the biggest lie that politicians say to cover their ineffectiveness. They put it on, “We’re doing the will of the people.” What people are they talking about? They’re talking about, what, 10% of the population? If you’re only talking to 10% of the population, or you only care about what 10% of the population cares about, and you’re totally ignoring the other 90%, are you really following the will of the people? Are you really being a governor for the entire state of Florida? I believe Floridians deserve a governor that cares about every single person in the state, regardless of what their political preferences, their racial dynamics are. None of that should matter. If you live in the state of Florida, a governor should care about you as a person.
EJ: That was Desmond Meade. Look for the full Rap Sessions interview next week on wslr.org.
For WSLR, I’m Ed James III.
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