DeSantis will restore Trump’s voting rights if there is a problem

In case there was any doubt, former President Donald Trump’s felony conviction won’t prevent him from voting for himself in Florida, at least that’s what Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis thinks.

Last week, Trump was convicted of 34 counts in a New York state case of falsifying documents to cover up hush money payments to porn stars in an effort to influence the outcome of the election. 2016 election. That night, the media Reported As long as Trump is not incarcerated, he will likely still be able to vote in Florida in November.

DeSantis confirmed that Friday night and said he would ensure the state’s executive pardon board would quickly restore Trump’s pardon power if necessary, something others said DeSantis did not always do. For common felons in Florida.

“Former President Donald Trump did not lose his right to vote in Florida. Rights were not taken away from Florida because they had not been taken away in the criminalization jurisdiction,” DeSantis said. Tweet“That being said, given the absurdity of New York’s prosecution of Trump, this is an easy case for restoration of rights under the rules of the Florida Board of Pardons, which I chair.”

DeSantis added: “Most importantly, a vote for Donald Trump this November will be one of millions of votes proving that Florida is now a solidly Republican State!”

A Tallahassee law firm is advising the governor on the matter, according to an email inadvertently sent to The Herald by an attorney on Monday. But a legal conflicts expert told The Herald that it would be legal for the Florida Board of Pardons to restore Trump’s voting rights in Florida regardless of what happens in other states.

So far, Trump has been convicted in a New York state court. In addition, he has a pending federal case in Miami, another pending federal case in Washington, D.C., and a pending state case in Georgia. So it’s not impossible that the Florida Board of Pardons may indeed need to address Trump’s voting rights, as well as other civil rights issues, such as the right to run for public office, the right to serve on a jury, and the right to carry a gun.

For example, if he were incarcerated in New York, he would Not eligible Under Florida law, he therefore Not eligible Vote here. But the state Pardons Board Has broad powers to restore rights as needed. rule It was agreed upon by the commission itself, which consists of the governor and three members of Florida’s Cabinet, all of whom are Republicans.

The governor and two other members of the pardon board are needed to restore a felon’s rights.

One of those members is Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, who has already joined.

“Trump should be pardoned immediately,” Patronis tweeted shortly after Thursday’s conviction. “This is outrageous.”

While Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, a member of the Florida Cabinet, did not go that far, he did tweet Supported Trump immediately after his conviction.

“This disgrace is not justice. This is election interference,” Simpson said. Tweet“Looking forward to the real verdict on November 5th.”

Howard Simon, former executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, said via email that DeSantis is politicizing voting rights.

“Voting rights are the essence of democracy. But Governor DeSantis’ statement shows that for him this is all about partisan gain, saying he’s eager to restore voting rights to Trump as proof that Florida is a solidly Republican state,” Simon said. “His newfound enthusiasm for voting rights should extend to everyone, not just his authoritarian role model.”

The Pardon Process in Florida

Florida Constitution Grants With approval from two members of Florida’s Cabinet, the governor has the power to restore felons’ rights, including granting full or conditional pardons, commuting sentences and eliminating fines and forfeitures for crimes.

Historically, the pardon board has met quarterly and last met on March 27. The Florida Offender Review Board and DeSantis’ office did not respond in time for this story about how many times the board has met or how many former felons have had their civil rights restored since DeSantis took office in January 2019.

(In Florida, felons generally must serve their full sentences before their civil rights, including the right to vote, are restored, unless the Board of Pardons votes otherwise).

But the commission under DeSantis has been accused in the past of restoring some rights.

“So far this year, four (former felons) have had their rights restored under the supervision of this pardon board,” then-Democratic Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Friedman said. Tell reporters On October 29, 2019, PolitiFact Florida commented on the pre-legislative session press conference Rated “It’s basically true.”

Fried puts that number into context: “Under Governor Crist’s leadership, over 155,000 Florida residents had their rights restored. Under Governor Jeb Bush’s leadership, over 76,000 had their rights restored. Even under Governor Scott’s leadership, over 3,000 of our fellow citizens have regained their right to participate in society.”

About a year later, Fried told the Herald So far, only 30 former felons have had their rights restored under DeSantis’ state pardon board, according to a statement.

“It’s ludicrous that in nearly two years of Governor DeSantis’ tenure, only 30 Floridians have regained their rights, while during his three predecessors’ tenures, that number rose to 234,000,” Fried said.

In 2018, voters approved Constitutional Amendment Most felons automatically have their voting rights restored after serving all of their sentences, including fines and fees. But there has been confusion about when these former felons are actually eligible to vote, which is often tied to unpaid fees in various counties that they may or may not know about.

The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition worked with DeSantis’ pardon board to update the rules so that people whose voting rights are restored also have other civil rights restored, including the right to run for state office and the right to serve on a jury.

But to restore those rights, former felons must still apply and have their cases investigated by the Florida Offender Review Board, which can take years. Once their cases are approved, they must wait in line for approval by the Board of Pardons. Neil Waltz, deputy director of the Florida Rights Restoration Alliance, said that right now, this restoration is still a work in progress and there is still a backlog.

“As far as implementing these reforms, we haven’t seen a lot of progress,” Walz told the Herald. “Right now, it’s kind of bogged down in bureaucracy.”

Walz added: “There’s still a long way to go before people can take full advantage of these policies.”

Waltz sees Trump’s felony conviction as a teachable moment for Florida, aimed at restoring the civil rights of people who have served time. He said he hopes the fact that millions of Floridians are likely to vote for a felon will remove some of the stigma.

“The pardon board has tremendous flexibility and power to change its own rules and make decisions … they certainly have the ability to take many actions that could be beneficial to former President Trump,” Walz said. “We would hope that any process that is available to former President Trump would also be available to ordinary people with criminal records.”

Trump’s pending criminal cases

Now that Trump’s New York State case is over, he still has three pending criminal cases to deal with.

One case took place in South Florida. It is a federal case following an FBI and federal grand jury investigation into allegations that Trump refused to return classified documents after leaving the White House. The indictment states that Trump faces 38 charges in the case, many of which carry a maximum sentence of 20 years. However, the judge in charge of the case postponed the case indefinitely on May 7, making it unlikely to be decided before the November election.

The second federal case filed by the Justice Department is in Washington, D.C., and focuses on Trump’s alleged conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election and the January 6 riot. He is charged with four counts in that case. On December 13, the judge in charge of the case said on hold Trump is appealing a ruling that he does not have broad immunity from criminal charges stemming from his actions as president. With the U.S. Supreme Court Whether the case will be resumed on January 6 depends on the ruling of the Supreme Court.

The third case is also related to Trump’s alleged conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election. According to the U.S. Supreme Court, the case is a state case in Georgia, where a Fulton County grand jury found that Trump attempted to interfere with the state’s election results. indictmentThe proceedings were derailed by Trump’s attempt to remove County District Attorney Fani Willis over his alleged relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. That request was denied, but Trump has appealed the decision. Oral arguments in that appeal are tentatively scheduled for Oct. 4, CBS News said. ReportedThe Georgia case will not be heard until the appeals process is complete.

If Trump is found guilty in any of the federal cases, he can pardon himself.

If he is convicted in the Georgia case before November, it would not affect his voting rights in Florida. That’s because the outcome of a Florida conviction rests with Florida officials, said Kermit Roosevelt, an expert on constitutional law and legal conflicts at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.

“I’ve never seen a case like this, and I’d be very surprised if there was a case that said Florida can’t decide what the impact of convictions in other states are,” Roosevelt said. “What DeSantis is talking about there (in Friday’s tweet): Our Board of Pardons can remove you from this disability under Florida law. I think it’s clearly OK.”

This article was originally published on June 4, 2024, 5:06 pm.