Can a convicted Trump vote for himself in Florida? DeSantis thinks so. Here’s why

UPDATE: Florida Gov. DeSantis weighs in on Trump voting rights.

Former president and presumptive GOP nominee for the 2024 election Donald Trump was found guilty Thursday in 34 felony counts concerning falsifying business records to conceal a hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the runup to the 2016 presidential election.

Which begs the question: this November, will Trump be able to vote for himself?

Short answer: almost certainly.

Can Donald Trump still vote?

Florida residents with felony convictions in other states are ineligible to vote in Florida “only 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.

Trump was found guilty in New York, and New York allows felons to vote as long as they are not actually behind bars. The former president has not yet been sentenced and has already promised to appeal, which could keep him out of any potential prison sentence for months or even years, well beyond the November election.

"Trump has neither been sentenced to incarceration nor is he actually incarcerated. He has the right to vote in New York, so he has it in Florida," Blair Bowie, attorney and director of the Campaign Legal Center's Restore Your Vote project, told USA TODAY. "The only way he won't be able to vote is if he is actually in prison on Election Day."

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DeSantis says restoring Trump's voting rights 'an easy case'

Florida's governor was more explicit. In a Friday post on X, formerly Twitter, he said, "Former President Donald Trump hasn't lost his voting rights in Florida. Rights are not removed in Florida where they haven't yet been stripped in the convicting jurisdiction."

He also hinted strongly that the state, which has worked hard to prevent felons from voting, would get Trump back into the voting booth this November.

"That said, given the absurd nature of the New York prosecution of Trump," DeSantis said, "this would be an easy case to qualify for restoration of rights per the Florida Clemency Board, which I chair."

Can Donald Trump still run for president?

Yes. The only restrictions for a presidential candidate in the U.S. Constitution are that the person:

• Be at least 35 years old
• Be a natural-born citizen who has lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years

It says nothing about whether the candidate is serving time or not.

Will Donald Trump be sentenced to prison?

Each of Trump's 34 counts carries a maximum sentence of four years, but legal experts have suggested his sentence could fall somewhere from probation to four years in prison, USA TODAY reported. He will be sentenced on July 11, four days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee where he is expected to accept the GOP presidential nomination.

While Trump could potentially be sentenced to serve multiple counts consecutively, several experts said that is unlikely because he has no felony criminal record and the charges don't involve allegations of physical violence. There is also the fact that imprisoning a former U.S. president is unprecedented.

However, the sentence will be decided by Judge Juan Merchan, who frequently butted heads with Trump and his lawyers during the trial and was forced to issue and then expand a gag order over Trump's history of attacking the family members of judges and lawyers in his legal cases, including Merchan's own daughter.

What will happen to Trump as a convicted felon in Florida?

If Trump is sentenced and spends any time in prison, he will lose his voting rights in Florida until he serves his time and pays any remaining restitution or fines to regain his civil rights.

That could be tricky, as Florida is notoriously harsh on felons regaining voting rights despite voters passing an amendment in 2018 to do just that. The GOP-led legislature passed a law requiring that felons first pay all of their financial obligations but neglected to create methods for former felons to determine precisely what they owe or if they can legally vote yet.

It also created an election crimes office to address claims of voter fraud. Twenty confused former felons were arrested soon after the office was created for illegally voting because they believed they could. Several were even issued voter registration cards. Most of the cases were dismissed or resulted in plea deals with no jail time.

Florida law also will prevent Trump from serving on a jury until then, hold a state office, or get certain professional or occupational licenses such as real estate, teaching, law enforcement or insurance.

As a convicted felon, Trump will not be permitted to possess firearms, ammunition or electric weapons or face second-degree felony charges of 10 years imprisonment and/or a $250,000 fine. It would also be a violation of his parole.

However, Florida statutes specify that this applies to felons convicted in Florida, or elsewhere if the crime would have been a felony here punishable for at least a year in prison, which could leave it open to state interpretation or gubernatorial clemency.

State law allows felons who have completed their time to request restoration of firearm authority eight years after the date of their release from supervision. But, according to the Florida Commission on Offender Review, this option is not available for someone convicted of a felony out of state since federal law prohibits the possession of firearms by felons.

Trump's travel may be restricted and may require approval from a probation officer, although that is unclear at this time. Some countries such as Canada, England, Israel and Australia bar convicted felons from entry, although it can depend on the length of the incarceration, and many others have various restrictions.

What was Donald Trump convicted of?

Trump was found guilty on 34 felony charges of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels, who claimed Trump had sex with her and then paid her off to stay quiet through an arrangement by his then-personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen.

Each count was tied to a different record that prosecutors said Trump was responsible for altering, all part of a plan to disguise the payments as business expenses. Those records include 11 checks paid to Cohen, 11 invoices from Cohen and 12 entries in Trump's ledgers.

Cohen testified to that effect, and former National Enquirer head David Pecker testified that Trump participated in a conspiracy to kill unflattering news stories specifically to influence the 2016 election.

Trump maintained throughout that he was innocent and the payment was to spare his family embarrassment. He has also repeatedly claimed the case is a political witchhunt.

A Manhattan jury delivered its verdict of guilty on all counts after nine hours of deliberations.

Contributing: Andre Byik, USA TODAY