Former president Donald Trump If a Manhattan grand jury indicts him, he could soon join millions of Americans whose right to vote depends on a criminal record. criminal charges in a hush money case.
But experts say it is unlikely that Trump will be disqualified from the felony charge in the New York case, noting that it will depend on whether the presumptive Republican presidential nominee serves prison time as part of his sentence.
According to the Sentencing Project, forty-eight states bar some or all Americans with criminal convictions from voting, and about 4.4 million Americans — about 2% of the voting-age population — were unable to vote in the 2022 election. those laws. Group estimates It says that more than 1 million of those disenfranchised Americans live in Florida, where Trump established official residency in 2019.
Florida subject to other state laws as to the disenfranchisement of electors tried and convicted elsewhere. That means Florida voters like Trump will only lose their voting rights if the state they were convicted of disqualifies them for a felony. If their conviction status restores their voting rights, so will Florida, said Blair Bowie, an attorney with the Campaign Legal Center, which advocates for ending criminal disenfranchisement.
In New York, people serving time behind bars for felony crimes are prohibited from voting, and voting rights are restored once the person is released from prison. Those convicted of non-prison felony crimes never lose their voting rights.
In the New York case, “the only way he won’t be able to vote is if he’s in jail on Election Day,” Bowie said.
A 12-person jury has begun in Trump’s Manhattan trial discusses the prosecutors’ case on Wednesday, and can issue a verdict at any point. Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money his attorney Michael Cohen made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the final days of the 2016 election.
If Trump is found guilty, he faces up to 4 years in prison. But experts say Jail time for a first-time, non-violent offender unlikely. And even if he is ordered to life, the imminent appeals process will likely delay a sentence until well after the 2024 election, allowing Trump to vote for his third presidential bid.
If Trump loses voting rights in Florida, there will be ways for him to get those rights back.
Trump could seek a pardon to restore voting rights in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis — his former opponent in the 2024 GOP presidential race — oversees a process that would allow people with felony convictions to regain voting rights.
Bowie said DeSantis typically requires those convicted of felonies to complete their sentences before applying, but has the authority to change the rules.
Conviction in federal court – Trump is accused of trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Washington and handling classified documents in Florida. — could pose a greater threat to the former president’s right to vote in Florida, he added, because Trump would have to seek a pardon in Florida or, in that scenario, a presidential pardon in order to re-vote in the state. However, it is not clear whether these cases will go to court before the election day.
Sentencing Project organizer Bob Libal said the former president’s experience is not unique.
“The confusion about President Trump’s right to vote represents the confusion that many people are experiencing, and I think that confusion is keeping people from voting,” he said.
“It can be quite complicated. It’s about Trump who has access to a lot of lawyers, and even here you can tell it’s pretty complicated,” Bowie added. “For the average person who doesn’t have access to lawyers, it can be almost impossible.”