Can a presidential candidate run for office while behind bars?
This question is more relevant than ever since former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election, was found guilty on all counts Thursday in connection with a secret payment to the actor adult film director Stormy Daniels during her 2016 presidential campaign.
The answer is simply yes.
A convicted or imprisoned felon can not only campaign for the presidency and other federal offices, but also be elected.
Can a criminal run for president?
The U.S. Constitution does not explicitly prohibit a presidential candidate from running for office while under indictment, or even while serving time behind bars.
Eligibility requirements for presidents only stipulate that they must be at least 35 years old, a natural-born citizen of the United States, and a resident of the country for at least 14 years.
So a criminal record, an orange jumpsuit, and being on the wrong side of bars won’t necessarily prevent someone from becoming president. It is the voters who have the power to do this.
Has anyone run for president from prison?
A little over a century ago, Eugene V. Debs was the Socialist Party candidate in 1920 while imprisoned for speaking out against World War I and convicted under the Sedition Act.
Debs presented himself as a martyr for free speech and received about three percent of the vote, or about 915,000 votes.
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Can you run for Congress if you are accused or convicted of a crime?
In the past, American political candidates have campaigned from prison with varying degrees of success.
Vermont Congressman Matthew Lyon won re-election in 1798 while imprisoned under the Sedition Act for denouncing President John Adams, becoming the only federal candidate to do so while incarcerated.
Currently indicted New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez campaigned throughout his first corruption indictment, from 2015 to 2018. After those earlier charges were dropped, he won another six-year term.
Can Trump be president if convicted?
The Constitution does not specifically disqualify candidates for public office because of their criminal record.
Some have argued that Trump’s actions were different because they violated a key part of a constitutional amendment.
Some courts and election officials have also argued that Trump’s actions before and on the day of the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, should make him ineligible for office under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which disqualifies individuals who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion.” » after taking an oath to support the Constitution.
Former President Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts Thursday in his criminal trial for concealing secret payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Can felons vote?
Another interesting twist is that while Trump would not lose the opportunity to run for president if convicted of a crime, he could lose the right to vote.
Trump is registered to vote in Florida, where most disenfranchised felons only regain their right to vote after serving their full sentence, including parole or probation.
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