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Can Trump Vote As A Convicted Felon? Here’s What Rights He Could Lose.
![Can Trump Vote As A Convicted Felon? Here’s What Rights He Could Lose. Can Trump Vote As A Convicted Felon? Here’s What Rights He Could Lose.](https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/6657a3ca29d8b6641ae43074/0x0.jpg?format=jpg&crop=1082,608,x0,y47,safe&height=900&width=1600&fit=bounds)
Topline
Former President Donald Trump was convicted of a felony Thursday, prompting questions around what rights Trump will and will not have as the likely presidential nominee and felon. (Update: Jury finds Trump guilty in hush-money trial.)
Former President Donald Trump makes remarks at the end of the day during his criminal trial at … [+]
Key Facts
A Florida resident with a felony conviction in another state—like Trump—is only ineligible to vote in Florida “if the conviction would make the person ineligible to vote in the state where the person was convicted,” according to the Florida Division of Elections website (Trump has been a Florida resident since 2019).
Because Trump was convicted in Manhattan, he’ll face New York’s felon voting rules, which allow a felon to vote as long as they are not behind bars—meaning Trump would be able to vote as long as he doesn’t go to jail.
Trump will be sentenced in July and faces a fine of up to $5,000 and up to four years in prison for each of the 34 felony counts he was convicted of, but legal experts have generally said it’s unlikely he is sentenced to jail time—partly because he’s a first-time offender, but also due to the “ripple effect” of having a former president in jail would create.
Blair Bowie, an attorney at the Campaign Legal Center, told NBC News the only way Trump “wouldn’t be able to vote is if he is in prison on Election Day,” citing New York’s felon voting protocols.
Trump can also appeal the case post-conviction and ask for any potential prison sentence to be delayed during appeal, which could be a way of ensuring he could vote even if he faces jail time.
The conviction won’t prevent Trump from running for president as the only requirements, per the Constitution, are for presidential candidates to be at least 35 years old and natural-born citizens who have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years.
Trump could lose his right to own a firearm now that he has been convicted, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which says the federal Gun Control Act makes it unlawful for someone “convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year” to possess firearms or ammunition.
Florida law prevents felons convicted in any state from serving on a jury until their civil rights are restored following completion of sentence and payment of all restitution or fees, meaning Trump could lose that right, too, at least temporarily.
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Can Trump Pardon Himself From Hush Money Charges If He’s Reelected?
If he’s reelected, Trump could not pardon himself in this case as a president only has pardoning power over federal criminal offenses. A president cannot grant pardons for state criminal offenses—like Trump’s Manhattan charges—or federal or state civil claims.
Crucial Quote
Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Marymount Law School and a former Biden administration senior policy adviser for democracy and voting rights, told PolitiFact that “it’s exceedingly unlikely that (Trump gets) sentenced to a term of imprisonment even if convicted, and so I think it’s exceedingly unlikely that he’s going to lose his voting rights based on anything that happens in NY.”
Key Background
Trump’s New York hush money case was the first of his four criminal cases to go to trial—and is likely the only one in which he could face a conviction ahead of November’s election. He was indicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records having to do with reimbursement checks he made to his former attorney Michael Cohen after Cohen paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 ahead of the 2016 election, allegedly to prevent her from going public with her claims that she had an affair with Trump years prior. Trump pleaded not guilty and was regularly critical of the trial, calling it a witch hunt and election interference, as it has largely prevented him from campaigning outside of New York.