Current:Home > FinanceCan Trump still vote after being convicted? -DollarDynamic
Can Trump still vote after being convicted?
View
Date:2025-04-14 02:40:11
Former President Donald Trump, and the presumptive GOP nominee for the presidency in November, is now a convicted felon, but it's still likely he can vote — and vote for himself — in Florida this fall.
Trump, whose primary residence was in New York for most of his life, moved his residency to Florida in 2019, so that's where he would seek to vote this fall. Trump can still become president as a convicted felon, and experts say despite his conviction on 34 felony counts on Thursday, he can likely vote, too. Trump's sentencing hearing is scheduled for July, but his attorneys are sure to file all appeals possible, and it's not yet clear whether he will serve prison time.
Blair Bowie, an attorney at the Campaign Legal Center, said Florida "defers to other state laws when it comes to disenfranchising voters who are tried and convicted elsewhere."
According to Florida state law, a Florida resident with a felony conviction elsewhere is only ineligible to vote "if the conviction would make the person ineligible to vote in the state where the person was convicted," the Florida Division of Elections website says. According to the New York courts website, "you lose your right to vote while you are in prison for a felony conviction." But "if you are convicted of a felony and you are released from prison, you can vote," and "if you are convicted of a felony and your sentence is suspended, you can vote."
The ACLU of New York says convicted felons who are on parole, on probation, were not sentenced to prison or completed a prison sentence can vote.
"New York only disenfranchises people while serving a prison sentence, so assuming Trump is not sentenced to prison time, his rights would be restored by New York law and therefore also in Florida," Bowie said.
CBS News legal analyst and Loyola University Law School professor Jessica Levinson agreed, saying a person convicted of a felony can vote unless incarcerated.
"New York says you can vote unless he's incarcerated, so no incarceration means he can vote," Levinson said.
Trump is still facing charges related to alleged election interference in Georgia and Washington, D.C, and another 40 counts related to the classified documents case in Florida. None of those cases have trial dates set yet.
- In:
- Voting
- Donald Trump
Kathryn Watson is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C.
veryGood! (5361)
Related
- Dick Vitale announces he is cancer free: 'Santa Claus came early'
- Man faces fatal kidnapping charges in 2016 disappearance of woman and daughter in Florida
- Pregnant Gisele Bündchen and Boyfriend Joaquim Valente Bond With Her Kids in Miami
- California voters weigh measures on shoplifting, forced labor and minimum wage
- DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
- 3-term Democrat Sherrod Brown tries to hold key US Senate seat in expensive race
- New Hampshire’s governor’s race pits ex-Sen. Kelly Ayotte against ex-Mayor Joyce Craig
- Brooklyn Peltz Beckham Details Double Dates With Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco
- At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
- Landmark Washington climate law faces possible repeal by voters
Ranking
- Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details
- Gerrit Cole, Yankees call each others' bluffs in opt-out saga: 'Grass isn’t always greener'
- Independent US Sen. Angus King faces 3 challengers in Maine
- Lopsided fight to fill Feinstein’s Senate seat in liberal California favors Democrat Schiff
- Federal Spending Freeze Could Have Widespread Impact on Environment, Emergency Management
- Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul date, time: How to buy Netflix boxing event at AT&T Stadium
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs' attorneys seek gag order after 'outrageous' claims from witness
- Republicans try to hold onto all of Iowa’s 4 congressional districts
Recommendation
Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
Boeing strike ends as machinists accept contract offer with 38% pay increase
Heidi Klum poses with daughter, 20, and mom, 80, in new lingerie campaign
Democrats hope to keep winning streak alive in Washington governor’s race
Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
Patrick Mahomes survives injury scare in Chiefs' overtime win vs. Buccaneers
Kristin Cavallari Says Britney Spears Reached Out After She Said She Was a Clone
High winds – up to 80 mph – may bring critical fire risk to California