Denver — DENVER (AP) — Donald Trump could live in Florida, a state notorious for restricting the voting rights of people with felonies and convictions of felonies. However, he can still vote as long as he is not in a New York state prison.
That’s because Florida follows other states’ disenfranchisement rules for residents convicted of out-of-state felonies. In Trump’s case, New York law only removes voting rights from people convicted of felonies if they are incarcerated. Under a 2021 law passed by the state’s Democratic Legislature, their rights are automatically restored when they are released from prison, even if they are on parole.
“If a Floridian’s voting rights are restored after a conviction, they are restored under Florida law,” Blair Bowie of the Campaign Legal Center wrote in a post, adding that those without Trump’s legal resources often have to deal with Florida’s complex rules. He pointed out that there was confusion.
So as long as Trump doesn’t go to jail, he can get Florida to vote for him in the November election.
“His rights depend on his sentencing.” Michael McDonald, a political scientist at the University of Florida who has tracked the state’s felony disenfranchisement rule, wrote on the social media site X (formerly Twitter).
Trump was found guilty Thursday of falsifying business records in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election by paying hush money to a porn star who said the two had a sexual relationship.
Trump, a lifelong New Yorker, took up residence in Florida in 2019 while in the White House.
Even if Trump is elected president again, he will not be able to pardon state charges in New York. The president’s pardon power applies only to federal crimes.
Even a conviction and imprisonment will not stop Trump from continuing his pursuit of the White House. The Republican National Convention, which will be held four days after the July 11 sentencing date in New York, adopted rules last year that did not include any specific provisions if the presumptive nominee was convicted of a crime.
Delegates may move to change the rules before formalizing Trump’s nomination, but there is no evidence that any significant faction of the party will try to replace the former president on the Republican ticket. Trump owes his loyalty to the entire Republican base, and the Republican National Committee is run by his loyalists, including his daughter-in-law Lara Trump as co-chairman.
