Florida would restore Trump’s voting rights if conviction became an issue, DeSantis says

If there was any doubt, former President Donald Trump’s criminal conviction will not prevent him from voting for himself in Florida, at least according to the governor. Ron DeSantis.

Last week, Trump was convicted on 34 counts in a New York state case of falsifying documents to conceal secret payments to a porn star in order to influence the outcome of the 2016 election. That night, the press reported that as long as Trump was not incarcerated, he would likely still be able to vote in Florida in November.

On Friday night, DeSantis confirmed this and said he would ensure that the State Executive Clemency Board quickly restores that right to Trump if necessary, something others have said DeSantis has not always done for Florida’s common criminals.

“Former President Donald Trump did not lose his right to vote in Florida. Rights are not removed in Florida where they have not yet been removed in the sentencing jurisdiction,” DeSantis tweeted. “That said, given the absurd nature of the case against Trump in New York, this would be an easy case to qualify for restoration of rights under the Florida Clemency Board, of which I chair.”

DeSantis added: “The bottom line is that Donald Trump’s vote in November will be one of millions that demonstrates that Florida is now a solidly Republican state!”

The governor is being advised on the matter by a Tallahassee law firm, according to an email inadvertently sent by an attorney to the Herald/Times on Monday. But it would be legal for the Florida Clemency Board to restore Trump’s right to vote in Florida regardless of what happens in any other state, according to a conflict of laws expert who spoke to the Herald/Times.

So far, Trump has been convicted in New York state court. He also has a federal case pending in Miami, a federal case pending in Washington D.C. and a state case pending in Georgia. And so, it’s not outside the possibility that the Florida Clemency Board might actually have something to address regarding Trump’s right to vote, as well as his other civil rights, such as the right to run for state office, the right to serve on a jury and the right to bear a weapon.

If he is incarcerated in New York, for example, he would be ineligible vote in that state. And under Florida law he would therefore be ineligible to vote here. But the state Clemency Board has broad authority to restore rights as it sees fit. That’s it rules they are agreed upon by the council itself, made up of the governor and the three members of the Florida Cabinet, all of whom are Republicans.

It takes the governor and two other members of the Clemency Board to restore a criminal’s rights.

Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis is already on board.

“Trump should receive clemency immediately,” Patronis tweeted shortly after his conviction on Thursday. “This is outrageous.”

And while Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpon didn’t go that far, he did. tweet in support of Trump shortly after the conviction.

“This disgrace is not justice. It’s election interference,” Simpson tweeted. “I eagerly await the royal verdict on November 5.”

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

“The right to vote is the essence of democracy. But Governor DeSantis’ statement reveals that for him it’s all about partisan advantage, saying he is eager to restore Trump’s voting rights to demonstrate that Florida is a solidly Republican state,” Simon said. “Your new passion for voting rights should extend to everyone, not just your authoritarian model.”

FLORIDA CLEMENCY PROCESS

The Florida Constitution grants to the governor, with the approval of two members of the Florida Cabinet, the ability to restore a criminal’s rights, including granting full or conditional pardons, lesser sentences, and canceling fines and forfeitures for infractions.

Historically, the Clemency Board, which last met on March 27, has met quarterly. The Florida Commission on Offender Review and DeSantis’ office did not respond to questions in time for publication about how many times the board has met or how many former felons it has restored civil rights to since DeSantis took office in January 2019.

(In Florida, barring a vote by the Clemency Board, a person convicted of a crime must serve all terms of their sentence before becoming eligible to have their civil rights restored, including the right to vote).

But DeSantis’ council has been accused of restoring few rights in the past.

“So far this year, under this Clemency Board, four [former felons] they got their rights back,” said Nikki Fried, then-Democratic Agriculture Commissioner. told reporters on October 29, 2019, at a pre-legislative press conference, a PolitiFact Florida comment evaluated “mostly true.”

Fried put that number in context: “Under Gov. [Charlie] Crist, more than 155,000 Floridians have had their rights restored. Under Governor [Jeb] Bush, more than 76,000. Even under the governor [Rick] Scott, more than 3,000 of our fellow citizens have regained the right to participate in society.”

About a year later, Fried told the Herald/Times in a statement that only 30 former felons had had their rights restored to that point under DeSantis’ state Clemency Board.

“It is an absolute mockery that in nearly two years under Governor DeSantis, only 30 Floridians have regained their rights, compared to 234,000 under his three predecessors,” Fried said.

Voters in 2018 approved a constitutional amendment automatically restore the right to vote to a person convicted of a crime after serving all terms of the sentence, including fines and fees. But there has been confusion about when these ex-felons are truly eligible, often related to outstanding fees in various counties that they may or may not be aware of.

The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition worked with DeSantis’ Clemency Board to update the rules so that a person who has had their voting rights restored also has other civil rights restored, including the right to run for state office and the right to serve in a jury.

But to restore those rights, ex-felons must still apply and have their case investigated by the Florida Commission of Delinquent Review, which can take years. And once their cases are approved, they have to wait in line for the Clemency Board to approve restoration, and there is a delay, according to Neil Volz, deputy director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition.

“As far as implementing these changes, we’re not seeing a lot of activity,” Volz told the Herald/Times. “It’s getting a little bogged down in bureaucracy now.”

Volz added: “There is still a very long way to go before people can fully take advantage of these policies.”

Volz sees Trump’s criminal conviction as an educational moment in Florida around restoring civil rights for people who have served time. He said he hopes the fact that millions of people in Florida are about to vote for a convicted felon will eliminate some of the stigma.

“The Clemency Board has immense flexibility and power to change its own rules and make decisions… They definitely have the ability to take a lot of actions that could be helpful to former President Trump,” Volz said. “Our hope is that any due process granted to former President Trump will also be available to ordinary people with prior convictions.”

TRUMP’S OUTSTANDING CRIMINAL CASES

Now that Trump’s case in New York state is over, he still has three criminal cases pending.

One case is in South Florida. It is a federal case following FBI and federal grand jury investigations alleging that Trump refused to return classified documents after leaving the White House. He faces 38 charges in this case, many of which carry a maximum sentence of 20 years, according to the indictment. The supervising judge, however, indefinitely postponed the case on May 7, making it unlikely that a decision would be made before the November elections.

A second federal case brought by the Department of Justice is in Washington D.C. and centers on Trump’s alleged conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election and involves the January 6 riot. He is charged with four counts in that case. On December 13, the judge responsible for the case stated on hold while Trump appealed a ruling that said he did not have broad immunity from criminal charges arising from his actions while president. This immunity case is now with the US Supreme Court and the resumption of the January 6 case will depend on the high court’s decision.

The third case is also related to Trump’s alleged conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election. This case is a state case in Georgia, where a Fulton County grand jury found that he attempted to interfere with the election results in that state, according to O indictment. The process was sidetracked when Trump attempted to remove the county’s district attorney, Fani Willis, for having a romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. The request was denied, but Trump appealed the decision. An oral argument on that appeal is scheduled for October 4, CBS News reported. The trial in the Georgia case will not begin until the appeals process is complete.

If Trump is convicted in any of the federal cases, he could pardon himself.

If he is somehow convicted in the Georgia case before November, it will not affect his right to vote in Florida. That’s because how a Florida conviction unfolds depends on Florida authorities, said Kermit Roosevelt, an expert on constitutional law and conflict of laws at the University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law.

“I have never seen a case and I would be very surprised if there was a case saying that Florida cannot decide what effect to give to convictions in other states,” Roosevelt said. “What was Desantis talking about there [in his tweet on Friday] was saying: Our Clemency Board can give you relief from this disability imposed by Florida law. And I think that’s clearly right.”