Trump Just Voted In Florida. Here's How Other People With Felony Convictions Can, Too.

Only months after being convicted of 34 felonies in the state of New York, former President Donald Trump exercised his right to vote at a Palm Beach, Florida, polling location on Aug. 14.

Florida voters overwhelmingly supported a 2018 constitutional amendment restoring the voting rights of people with felony convictions after they’ve finished their sentences, except for those convicted of murder or a felony sex crime. But in the years since, Florida Republicans have worked to place obstacles in the way.

So when the most prominent Republican in the state cast his ballot in Florida’s primary elections, felony conviction and all, some voting rights advocates celebrated.

Trump is “an example of some of the challenges that exist, but also the opportunities that exist to create a better system – a process that works better for everybody,” said Neil Volz, deputy director of Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, a group promoting voting rights for formerly incarcerated people. Volz said that in recent months, he’s noticed an uptick in speaking requests from conservative groups who have a new interest in how the criminal-legal system interacts with voting rights.

“Every move that he makes is being looked at,” Volz said of Trump. “And that’s an educational opportunity for us.”

Just months after nearly 65% of Floridians voted in 2018 to re-enfranchise people with past felony convictions, Florida Republicans made it harder for that same group to vote. In June 2019, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 7066 into law , requiring people with past felony convictions to not just finish their prison sentences, probation and parole before regaining their rights — but also to pay financial obligations like court fines, fees, costs or