Trump will likely be allowed to vote, despite felony convictions
Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Patrick Marley, The Washington Post
Published May 31, 2024 • 3 minute read
Thousands of Florida residents lose their right to vote every year when they are convicted of a felony.
But by a quirk of the law, Florida resident and newly convicted Donald Trump likely will be able to cast a ballot in November.
If the former president had been convicted in Republican-dominated Florida or most other states, he would not be allowed to vote this fall as he seeks to unseat President Biden. But Trump was convicted in New York, a Democrat-run state where felon voting laws are more lenient, and that makes all the difference for his ability to keep his right to vote.
Under Florida law, residents convicted of crimes in other states lose their ability to vote in Florida only if they are barred from voting in the state where they committed their offenses, according to the U.S. Vote Foundation. In New York, where Trump was convicted, felons are barred from voting only while they are incarcerated, according to the foundation and Loyola Law School professor Justin Levitt.
The New York jury on Thursday convicted Trump of 34 felonies for falsifying business records over hush money payments he made to cover up an alleged affair with adult-film actress Stormy Daniels.
He will be sentenced on July 11, days before Republicans are slated to nominate him for president at their convention in Milwaukee. Legal experts have said Trump, as a first-time offender, is unlikely to be sent to prison. Even if he receives a prison sentence, Trump may be able to use appeals to avoid incarceration until after the election.
And because he’s unlikely to be behind bars, he will be allowed to cast a ballot. (His convictions do not prevent him from running for president, and he can continue his campaign even if imprisoned.)
Trump faces felony charges in three other cases but it is not clear that any of those will go to trial before the election. In a state case in Georgia and a federal case in Washington, D.C., Trump is charged with crimes related to attempting to overturn the 2020 election. In a federal case in Florida, he is charged with mishandling classified documents.
In 2021, New York’s Democrat-dominated legislature passed a law that said felons were barred from voting only while incarcerated. The measure was aimed at allowing felons out on parole to cast ballots. Before then, state law said those on probation could vote but those on parole or in prison could not, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
New York’s voting policies are less restrictive than those in Florida, where Trump lives.
For years, felons in Florida were banned from voting for life unless the state’s clemency board agreed to reinstate their voting rights.
Voters in a 2018 ballot measure amended the state constitution to give most felons the right to vote once they completed their sentences.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and his fellow Republicans in the legislature promptly blunted the measure by approving a law that said felons could not reclaim their right to vote until they paid fines related to their crimes. That put the ability to vote out of reach for many who had completed their terms of prison and probation, but still had outstanding debts.
In 2022, DeSantis formed a police unit focused on election crime, and its first arrests focused on felons who he said had illegally voted. Many of those cases have fallen apart.
Voting policies for felons vary widely from state to state, according to the Brennan Center. Some allow felons to vote as soon as they are released from prison and some when they complete their sentences of probation or parole. On the other end of the spectrum, some states permanently bar some felons from voting unless they get special dispensation from the government.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Patrick Marley, The Washington Post
Published May 31, 2024 • 3 minute read
Thousands of Florida residents lose their right to vote every year when they are convicted of a felony.
But by a quirk of the law, Florida resident and newly convicted Donald Trump likely will be able to cast a ballot in November.
If the former president had been convicted in Republican-dominated Florida or most other states, he would not be allowed to vote this fall as he seeks to unseat President Biden. But Trump was convicted in New York, a Democrat-run state where felon voting laws are more lenient, and that makes all the difference for his ability to keep his right to vote.
Under Florida law, residents convicted of crimes in other states lose their ability to vote in Florida only if they are barred from voting in the state where they committed their offenses, according to the U.S. Vote Foundation. In New York, where Trump was convicted, felons are barred from voting only while they are incarcerated, according to the foundation and Loyola Law School professor Justin Levitt.
The New York jury on Thursday convicted Trump of 34 felonies for falsifying business records over hush money payments he made to cover up an alleged affair with adult-film actress Stormy Daniels.
He will be sentenced on July 11, days before Republicans are slated to nominate him for president at their convention in Milwaukee. Legal experts have said Trump, as a first-time offender, is unlikely to be sent to prison. Even if he receives a prison sentence, Trump may be able to use appeals to avoid incarceration until after the election.
And because he’s unlikely to be behind bars, he will be allowed to cast a ballot. (His convictions do not prevent him from running for president, and he can continue his campaign even if imprisoned.)
Trump faces felony charges in three other cases but it is not clear that any of those will go to trial before the election. In a state case in Georgia and a federal case in Washington, D.C., Trump is charged with crimes related to attempting to overturn the 2020 election. In a federal case in Florida, he is charged with mishandling classified documents.
In 2021, New York’s Democrat-dominated legislature passed a law that said felons were barred from voting only while incarcerated. The measure was aimed at allowing felons out on parole to cast ballots. Before then, state law said those on probation could vote but those on parole or in prison could not, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
New York’s voting policies are less restrictive than those in Florida, where Trump lives.
For years, felons in Florida were banned from voting for life unless the state’s clemency board agreed to reinstate their voting rights.
Voters in a 2018 ballot measure amended the state constitution to give most felons the right to vote once they completed their sentences.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and his fellow Republicans in the legislature promptly blunted the measure by approving a law that said felons could not reclaim their right to vote until they paid fines related to their crimes. That put the ability to vote out of reach for many who had completed their terms of prison and probation, but still had outstanding debts.
In 2022, DeSantis formed a police unit focused on election crime, and its first arrests focused on felons who he said had illegally voted. Many of those cases have fallen apart.
Voting policies for felons vary widely from state to state, according to the Brennan Center. Some allow felons to vote as soon as they are released from prison and some when they complete their sentences of probation or parole. On the other end of the spectrum, some states permanently bar some felons from voting unless they get special dispensation from the government.
Trump will likely be allowed to vote, despite felony convictions
By a quirk of the law, Florida resident and newly convicted Donald Trump likely will be able to cast a ballot in November
![trump-hush-money-2[1].jpg](https://forums.canadiancontent.net/data/attachments/20/20573-14c80216c2ecda10c6d0414f6df1d94f.jpg "trump-hush-money-2[1].jpg")
