CBS News
Can Trump still vote after being convicted?
Former president and presumptive Republican nominee for president Donald Trump is now a convicted felon, but it’s still likely he can vote — and vote for himself — in Florida this fall.
Trump, whose primary residence was in New York for most of his life, moved his residency to Florida in 2019, so that’s where he would seek to vote this fall. Trump can still become president as a convicted felon, and experts say despite his conviction on 34 felony counts on Thursday, he can likely vote, too. Trump’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for July, but his attorneys are sure to file all appeals possible, and it’s not yet clear whether he will serve prison time.
Blair Bowie, an attorney at the Campaign Legal Center, said Florida “defers to other state laws when it comes to disenfranchising voters who are tried and convicted elsewhere.”
According to Florida state law, a Florida resident with a felony conviction elsewhere is only ineligible to vote “if the conviction would make the person ineligible to vote in the state where the person was convicted,” the Florida Division of Elections website says. According to the New York courts website, “you lose your right to vote while you are in prison for a felony conviction.” But “if you are convicted of a felony and you are released from prison, you can vote,” and “if you are convicted of a felony and your sentence is suspended, you can vote.”
The ACLU of New York says convicted felons who are on parole, on probation, were not sentenced to prison or completed a prison sentence can vote.
“New York only disenfranchises people while serving a prison sentence, so assuming Trump is not sentenced to prison time, his rights would be restored by New York law and therefore also in Florida,” Bowie said.
CBS News legal analyst and Loyola University Law School professor Jessica Levinson agreed, saying a person convicted of a felony can vote unless incarcerated.
“New York says you can vote unless he’s incarcerated, so no incarceration means he can vote,” Levinson said.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
CBS News
Kamala Harris will speak with “60 Minutes” tomorrow. Here’s what to know for the interview.
Voters will get the chance to hear from Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday as she presents her case for why she should be president in a “60 Minutes” election special.
For decades, “60 Minutes” has featured both Republican and Democratic nominees for presidents, but this year, former President Donald Trump backed out after previously indicating he would be on the show. Correspondent Scott Pelley, who’d been set to interview Trump, will instead travel to Arizona’s Maricopa County, home to more than 60% of Arizona’s voters and a critical battleground in a key swing state.
One thing is certain about the election; with the U.S. deeply involved in both the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, whoever wins on Nov. 5 will become a wartime president.
What Harris will discuss
Israel’s war started one year ago after Hamas launched a surprise terror attack and correspondent Bill Whitaker will discuss the ongoing war with Harris.
Harris will also discuss the economy, immigration, her record as vice president and the differences between herself and Trump.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz will also appear.
Whitaker joined the Democratic ticket on the campaign trail this week to gain insight into their platform’s priorities and values, and what the candidates believe voters should know.
Why Trump pulled out of the “60 Minutes” interview
Leading up to the candidate hour, Trump, through campaign spokespeople, was the first candidate to accept the “60 Minutes” request to be interviewed for the special, according to CBS News. It had been agreed that both candidates would receive equal time during the broadcast.
Trump last sat down with 60 Minutes in 2020. He walked out during the interview with Lesley Stahl. Trump referenced the incident on Tuesday night at a Milwaukee press conference when asked about his decision not to participate in the Oct. 7 “60 Minutes” election special.
“Well, right now, I went to – they came to me and would like me to do an interview, but first I want to get an apology, because the last time I did an interview with them, if you remember, they challenged me on the computer,” Trump said. “They said the ‘laptop from hell’ was from Russia, and I said it wasn’t from Russia. It was from Hunter, and I never got an apology, so I’m sort of waiting. I’d love to do ’60 Minutes.’ I do everything.”
The Republican nominee for president emphasized that he felt he was owed an apology from “60 Minutes.”
“Let’s see if they do it. I wouldn’t mind doing 60,” Trump continued. “I’ve done ’60 Minutes’ a lot.”
In a statement on Tuesday, Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said that Trump’s team had not agreed to an interview.
“Fake News,” Cheung said in a post on X. “60 Minutes begged for an interview, even after they were caught lying about Hunter Biden’s laptop back in 2020. There were initial discussions, but nothing was ever scheduled or locked in. They also insisted on doing live fact checking, which is unprecedented.”
Previous Trump, Harris appearances on 60 Minutes
Trump previously sat down with “60 Minutes'” Mike Wallace in 1985, Pelley in 2015 and Lesley Stahl twice in 2016, first in July of that year and then again in November of 2016. He also spoke with Stahl again in 2018 and 2020.
Harris previously sat down with Whitaker last year. She also was interviewed by Norah O’Donnell, “CBS Evening News” anchor and “60 Minutes” contributing correspondent, in 2020.
