Former president and presumptive Republican nominee for President Donald Trump does now a convicted felonbut it’s still likely he’ll be able to vote in Florida this fall — and vote for himself.
Trump, whose primary residence has been in New York for most of his life, moved his residence to Florida in 2019, so he would try to vote there this fall. Trump can still become president as a convicted felon, and experts say that despite his conviction on Thursday for 34 felonies, he is also likely to be able to vote. Trump’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for July, but his lawyers are sure to file any possible appeals, and it is not yet clear whether he will serve prison time.
Blair Bowie, an attorney with the Campaign Legal Center, said Florida “complies with other state laws when it comes to disenfranchising voters who are tried and convicted elsewhere.”
Under Florida state law, a Florida resident convicted of a crime elsewhere is only ineligible to vote “if the conviction would make the person ineligible to vote in the state where the person was convicted,” says the Florida Division of Elections website. According to the New York court website, “You lose your right to vote while in jail for a crime.” But “if you have been convicted of a crime and you are released from prison, you can vote,” and “if you have been convicted of a crime and your sentence is suspended, you can vote.”
The ACLU of New York says convicted felons who are on parole, probation, have not been sentenced to prison or have served a prison term can vote.
“New York only denies people their right to vote while they are serving a prison sentence, so assuming Trump is not sentenced to prison, his rights would be restored by New York law and therefore Florida law,” Bowie said.
CBS News legal analyst and Loyola University Law School professor Jessica Levinson agreed, saying a person convicted of a crime can vote unless he is in prison.
“New York says you can vote unless he’s incarcerated, so no incarceration means he can vote,” Levinson said.
Trump still faces charges related to alleged election interference in Georgia and Washington, D.C., and another 40 charges related to the classified documents case in Florida. No trial dates have yet been set for any of these cases.
