Desantis Says Trump Can Still Vote In Florida Despite Felony Conviction

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he’ll make sure Donald Trump can vote in his home state this November despite his felony convictions.

DeSantis said Friday that he disputes the assessment of some experts who say that Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts would make him ineligible to cast a ballot in the state.

But, in any case, the Florida governor said he would ensure the state clemency board cleared the way for his former rival for the Republican presidential nomination to vote back home.

“Given the absurd nature of the New York prosecution of Trump, this would be an easy case to qualify for restoration of rights per the Florida Clemency Board, which I chair,” he said on X.

Trump became the first former president to be convicted of felony crimes on Thursday for falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. A 12-person jury delivered a unanimous verdict, ending the six-week trial.

He’s scheduled to be sentenced July 11 and is expected to appeal.

Trump was convicted in New York but lives in Florida, one of the Republican-led states that has made it harder for people convicted of serious crimes to vote.

Florida voters approved a state constitutional amendment to restore voting rights to felons in 2018 but the Republican-controlled Legislature undercut the measure with a complex set of requirements that convicted felons first pay all fines, fees and court costs. New York has allowed people with felony convictions to vote upon release from incarceration since 2021.

DeSantis, in his social media post, said Florida doesn’t remove people’s voting rights if they haven’t been stripped in the state where they were convicted of a crime.

“The bottom line is that Donald Trump’s vote this November will be one of millions that demonstrate Florida is now a solid Republican state,” he said.

Some voting rights experts have agreed with DeSantis' assertion that Florida honors other states' rules when it comes to people with out-of-state convictions. But a nonprofit group that represents felons seeking to restore their voting rights disputes that interpretation of the law. That group, the Florida Justice Center, noted that the relevant Florida statute and state constitutional provision do not make "any such statement or distinction regarding out-of-state convictions."