Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Trump Can Still Vote After Sentencing, but Can't Own a Gun and Will Have to Turn Over DNA Sample
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 months ago on
January 10, 2025

Trump's felony conviction impacts some rights, but he retains ability to vote and run for office. (AP/Angela Weiss)

Share

NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump doesn’t have to go to jail, pay a fine or perform community service as a result of his New York hush money conviction. A judge ended the case Friday with a sentence of an unconditional discharge, closing the case with no punishment.

But unless the conviction for falsifying business records is someday overturned, Trump will have felonies on his criminal record, which will affect some of his rights.

Here are some of the potential impacts and some things that won’t change:

Voting Rights Remain Intact

Trump is registered to vote in Florida and he will be able to vote there.

Florida does bars people convicted of felonies from voting, but restores their right to vote after they have completed their sentence. People convicted of murder or a sex offense lose their right to vote permanently unless their rights are restored by a clemency board.

For people convicted of felonies in other states — like Trump — Florida only makes a person ineligible to vote if they lost their voting rights in the state where they were convicted. New York doesn’t let a person convicted of a felony vote while they are incarcerated, but restores voting rights once that person is released.

Gun Ownership Prohibited and DNA Sample Required

No. Under federal law, people convicted of felonies are not allowed to possess firearms.

By law, every person convicted of a felony in New York must provide a DNA sample for the state’s crime databank.

Samples are collected after sentencing, typically when a defendant reports to probation, jail or prison. Samples can also be taken by a court or police official.

It’s a noninvasive process involving a swab along the inside of the cheek. State police analyze the cells and genetic material, creating a profile that is then entered into the databank.

There, technology takes over, performing automatic searches and comparing profiles of people convicted of crimes with profiles of DNA collected at crime scenes. Matches can be used to identify a suspect in an unsolved crime.

New York’s databank contains profiles for more than 720,000 offenders and is connected to the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System.

Holding Office and Travel Implications

There is nothing in federal law that prevents a person from becoming president because they have been convicted of a crime. State laws vary on whether a person with a criminal record can run for state and local offices. Some require a pardon or expungement to run for office. There are no such limits to run for federal office.

Yes. As president, Trump will have a diplomatic passport enabling him to travel to foreign countries for official business and can also keep a regular, or tourist passport. People sentenced to incarceration or probation can have their passports denied or revoked, but that isn’t the case with Trump.

Some countries restrict or reserve the right to prohibit visits from people with felony convictions, including Canada, the United Kingdom and Israel.

Business and Pardon Considerations

Trump’s felony conviction could bar him from holding liquor licenses, but that doesn’t necessarily mean his golf courses and hotels will have to stop serving booze.

In New Jersey, for example, where Trump owns three golf courses, state law prohibits anyone who has been convicted of a crime “involving moral turpitude,” from holding a liquor license.

But Trump’s company has said his properties are all owned through corporate entities, and that he is not officer or director of any entity that holds any liquor licenses.

Trump’s conviction could also bar him from reentering the casino business, if he wanted, because people with criminal records are typically unable to obtain gaming licenses. Trump once owned three casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey, but no longer does.

Only New York’s governor has the power to pardon Trump for this conviction. Trump’s case was tried in state court and involved violations of state law. Presidential pardons only apply to federal crimes.

It seems unlikely that Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, would pardon Trump. Asked last month if she would consider pardoning Trump, she didn’t say yes or no, but noted that the pardon process requires several elements, including “remorse.”

Trump says he did nothing wrong and has described the case against him as a “hoax” perpetrated by Democrats.

“No one will be treated any better, or any worse, by me when I make those life altering decisions as we’re looking at petitions that are coming in throughout the year,” Hochul said. “So, no one gets extra favors, no one gets treated worse.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Senate Rebukes Trump’s Tariffs as Some Republicans Vote to Halt Taxes on Canadian Imports

DON'T MISS

Supreme Court Sides With the FDA in Its Dispute Over Sweet-Flavored Vaping Products

DON'T MISS

Trump Announces Sweeping New Tariffs to Promote US Manufacturing, Risking Inflation and Trade Wars

DON'T MISS

Fresno Firefighters Save Dog From Canal and Now She’s Ready for Adoption

DON'T MISS

Big Brands Spend Just Enough on X to Avoid Musk’s ‘Naughty List’

DON'T MISS

Judge Dismisses Corruption Case Against New York City Mayor Eric Adams

DON'T MISS

State Center Trustees Render Split Decision on Future of PLAs

DON'T MISS

California’s Schools Chief Has a $200,000 Salary and a Side Gig

DON'T MISS

Why Project Labor Agreements Are Good for Our Schools and Students: Opinion

DON'T MISS

Trump Proposes Tax Deduction for Auto Loan Interest on US-Made Cars

UP NEXT

Supreme Court Sides With the FDA in Its Dispute Over Sweet-Flavored Vaping Products

UP NEXT

Trump Announces Sweeping New Tariffs to Promote US Manufacturing, Risking Inflation and Trade Wars

UP NEXT

Fresno Firefighters Save Dog From Canal and Now She’s Ready for Adoption

UP NEXT

Big Brands Spend Just Enough on X to Avoid Musk’s ‘Naughty List’

UP NEXT

Judge Dismisses Corruption Case Against New York City Mayor Eric Adams

UP NEXT

State Center Trustees Render Split Decision on Future of PLAs

UP NEXT

California’s Schools Chief Has a $200,000 Salary and a Side Gig

UP NEXT

Why Project Labor Agreements Are Good for Our Schools and Students: Opinion

UP NEXT

Trump Proposes Tax Deduction for Auto Loan Interest on US-Made Cars

UP NEXT

Western US Sees Sharp Increase in Extreme Weather Impact

Fresno Firefighters Save Dog From Canal and Now She’s Ready for Adoption

9 hours ago

Big Brands Spend Just Enough on X to Avoid Musk’s ‘Naughty List’

9 hours ago

Judge Dismisses Corruption Case Against New York City Mayor Eric Adams

10 hours ago

State Center Trustees Render Split Decision on Future of PLAs

10 hours ago

California’s Schools Chief Has a $200,000 Salary and a Side Gig

10 hours ago

Why Project Labor Agreements Are Good for Our Schools and Students: Opinion

11 hours ago

Trump Proposes Tax Deduction for Auto Loan Interest on US-Made Cars

11 hours ago

Western US Sees Sharp Increase in Extreme Weather Impact

11 hours ago

Amazon Said to Make a Bid to Buy TikTok in the US

11 hours ago

Fresno Man Found Dead, Coroner’s Office Seeks Help Finding Family

11 hours ago

Senate Rebukes Trump’s Tariffs as Some Republicans Vote to Halt Taxes on Canadian Imports

WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a resolution Wednesday night that would thwart President Donald Trump’s ability to impose tariffs on Canada, ...

4 hours ago

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., center, is joined from left by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., as they speak to reporters about President Donald Trump's tariffs on foreign countries, at the Capitol, in Washington, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
4 hours ago

Senate Rebukes Trump’s Tariffs as Some Republicans Vote to Halt Taxes on Canadian Imports

8 hours ago

Supreme Court Sides With the FDA in Its Dispute Over Sweet-Flavored Vaping Products

8 hours ago

Trump Announces Sweeping New Tariffs to Promote US Manufacturing, Risking Inflation and Trade Wars

A young Labrador mix rescued from a Fresno canal on Sunday, March 2, 2025, is thriving in a foster home after overcoming fear and trauma. (Instagram/Fresno Animal Center)
9 hours ago

Fresno Firefighters Save Dog From Canal and Now She’s Ready for Adoption

9 hours ago

Big Brands Spend Just Enough on X to Avoid Musk’s ‘Naughty List’

10 hours ago

Judge Dismisses Corruption Case Against New York City Mayor Eric Adams

10 hours ago

State Center Trustees Render Split Decision on Future of PLAs

10 hours ago

California’s Schools Chief Has a $200,000 Salary and a Side Gig

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend