From today’s Associated Press:
Republican-led states have historically made it difficult for those convicted of a felony to vote or barred it altogether. Now the Republicans’ presumptive nominee for president, who lives in one of those states, is among them.
Donald Trump’s conviction in the New York hush money case puts a spotlight on a wider movement to restore rights that has been gaining momentum in recent years, with the notable exception of Trump’s newly adopted state of Florida and a pair of its Southern neighbors.
Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2018 restoring the right to vote for the estimated 1.8 million people in the state who had felony convictions, but the Republican-controlled Legislature watered that down by making the payment of all fines, fees and court costs part of the requirement before voting rights would be restored. That had the effect of making it complex, expensive and risky for people convicted of felonies to try to cast ballots.
It’s unlikely those rules will ensnare Trump, experts say, because he was convicted in New York state, not Florida.
When its residents are convicted of felonies in other states, Florida allows them to vote if they would be allowed to in the state of their conviction. In New York, Democrats passed a law in 2021 allowing people convicted of felonies to vote as long as they’re not in prison. So as long as Trump stays out of a New York prison while he appeals his conviction, he will be allowed to vote in Florida.
Read the complete story here.