After Donald Trump became the first former president to be convicted of a crime, many believed that the Florida resident would be barred from voting in the 2024 election because of the state’s harsh felony disenfranchisement law, which denies voting rights to more than 1 million people. However, Trump’s eligibility to cast a ballot this fall will depend on how he is sentenced in New York for falsifying business records.
His ability to vote in Florida could also be affected by the prosecutions against him in Georgia state court and federal courts in Florida and Washington, DC, although those trials are unlikely to happen before the election.
Can Trump vote in the 2024 election?
Yes, unless he is incarcerated for his felonies in New York at the time of the election or convicted of a felony in another jurisdiction that takes away his right to vote in that jurisdiction. Trump is a Florida resident, and Florida law says that a person convicted in another state can vote in Florida if they are allowed to vote in that other state. Since he was convicted in a New York state court, his eligibility to vote in Florida is governed by New York’s law, which allows everyone who’s not currently serving a sentence in prison to vote.
According to the Florida Division of Elections, “a felony conviction in another state makes a person ineligible to vote in Florida only if the conviction would make the person ineligible to vote in the state where the person was convicted.”
Trump has been convicted of felonies in New York and under New York state law, so New York law will determine his eligibility to vote in Florida. Under New York law, a person convicted of a felony is disenfranchised only while incarcerated for that felony. Thus, Trump will be able to vote as long as he is not incarcerated for his New York felonies at the time of the election.
If Trump can vote so long as he’s not in prison, why are so many other Floridians with past convictions who are living in the community disenfranchised?
Florida treats residents convicted of a felony in the state differently than residents convicted of a felony out of state. Under Florida law, people convicted of a felony other than murder or a felony sexual offense in a Florida state or federal court are disenfranchised during any term of incarceration, probation, parole, or other forms of community supervision and until they have paid off any fines, fees, court costs, and restitution ordered by the court at the time of sentencing. Therefore, had Trump been convicted in Florida, he would have been barred from voting unless he had completed all the terms of his sentence — including payment of any related court debts — or had his voting rights restored by the state’s clemency board.
The Brennan Center supports the right to vote for everyone who’s living in the community, and that includes Trump. The fact that he likely will be able to vote — while the more than 1 million Floridians living in the community will be denied that right simply because they were convicted in Florida — demonstrates the injustice in the state’s approach.
Additionally, the difficulty of determining Trump’s voter eligibility shows how complicated it can be for any Florida resident to understand their own. This confusing system underscores the unfairness of the state’s prosecutions of dozens of people who were confused or misled about their eligibility to vote.
Would Trump be eligible to vote in the fall if he’s convicted of a felony in Georgia or federal court?
It depends on which case results in a conviction, although a completed trial in any of them before the election is highly unlikely. Trump has two active prosecutions related to his role in the attempt to overturn the 2020 election: one in federal court in Washington and the other in Georgia state court. His prosecution in Florida federal court for his alleged mishandling of classified documents was dismissed by Judge Aileen Cannon on July 15.
If Trump were found guilty of another felony in the DC federal court case, his voting eligibility would be unaffected because people convicted of a felony in DC do not lose the right to vote.
A Georgia state felony conviction, by contrast, would likely disenfranchise Trump unless he was pardoned by the state’s governor or had his voting rights restored by Florida’s clemency board. Georgia law establishes that people convicted of a felony cannot vote during any period of incarceration, probation, or parole and unless they’ve fully paid any fines for that felony.
A federal conviction in Florida would likely disenfranchise Trump as well unless he was pardoned by the president or had his voting rights restored by the state’s clemency board, as people convicted of a felony other than murder or a felony sex offense in Florida are barred from voting during any period of incarceration, probation, or community control and unless they’ve fully paid any fines, fees, court costs, and restitution ordered by the court at the time of sentencing.
Could Florida’s clemency board intervene if Trump does become ineligible to vote?
After the news of Trump’s conviction, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that the Florida Clemency Board, which is made up of DeSantis and the three members of his cabinet, would step in to restore the former president’s voting rights if needed. The clemency board could probably follow through on that promise.
If Trump were in prison for his New York convictions at the time of the election (which appears unlikely), he would not be eligible to vote in Florida unless the clemency board restored his voting rights. The Rules of Executive Clemency require people with out-of-state or federal convictions to complete all nonfinancial terms of their sentence, including any term of incarceration or supervision, before they can apply to have their rights restored. The rules also limit restoration to those who do not have pending criminal charges. Thus, if Trump were incarcerated at the time of the election for his New York felonies or any of his prosecutions were active, he would not be eligible to apply to have his voting rights restored.
That said, the clemency board has broad authority to restore civil rights under Florida law to people with out-of-state or federal felonies. Its rules give the governor “unfettered discretion to require at any time that an individual matter be treated under other provisions of these rules, whether or not the person satisfies the eligibility requirements of a particular rule.” So DeSantis could bend the rules to allow Trump to apply even if he otherwise would not be eligible to do so. Trump’s application would then have to be approved by DeSantis and at least two other members of the clemency board.
Are all states’ rules for voting after a felony conviction as confusing as Florida’s?
No. However, the variation between states causes immense confusion among voters and election officials alike. Maine, Vermont, and Washington, DC, have the simplest rules because they never take the right to vote away, followed by the 23 states that disenfranchise people convicted of felonies only while they are incarcerated. In the remaining 25 states, people can remain disenfranchised after release from prison, and their eligibility to vote can depend on a number of factors, such as the type of offense or the type of fines or fees that they owe.
