Opinion: Trump can vote despite felony conviction. Why can’t others?

The conversation surrounding voting rights for people convicted of a felony has grown louder since the conviction in May of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Millions of Americans face voting restrictions because of felony convictions. But Trump doesn’t face such restrictions − at least for now − because Florida, where he has his legal residence, defers to voting eligibility laws in the state where a person was convicted.
In Trump’s case, because he was convicted in New York and New York allows felons to vote if they are not in prison, the former president can still cast a ballot in November.
Yet, many other potential voters in Florida are not so fortunate. In Florida, civil rights, including voting, are restored only after the completion of a sentence. Some states, including Maine and Vermont, allow felons to vote in presidential elections even while they are incarcerated.
More than 4 million Americans are prohibited from voting because of felony convictions.
I understand if you do the crime you have to do the time. Yet, many of the people barred from voting have completed their sentences but still cannot vote because their civil rights have not been restored.
States with the most restrictive laws, such as Florida and Alabama, have high rates of voter disenfranchisement. In Florida, more than 1 million people have lost the right to vote, including many who are disenfranchised because they can’t afford to pay court fees or restitution.
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Even after Florida voters approved Amendment 4 in 2018, the restoration of civil rights for individuals who have completed their sentences still isn’t automatic in many cases.
Desmond Meade, president and executive director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, said misconceptions about their legal rights keep many people with past convictions from voting.
“People (convicted felons) don’t vote because they aren’t sure if they can and are afraid of being arrested,” Meade told me.
He said losing your civil rights, including the eligibility to vote, is dehumanizing.
“It’s like wearing a scarlet letter,” Meade said. “I wasn’t allowed to sit for the bar examine until my civilrights were restored, despite graduating from law school.”
Meade said disenfranchising people convicted of felonies is a modern tool of voter suppression, one that limits the political power of specific demographic groups and skews electoral outcomes.
I asked if the former president’s felony conviction might prompt change if he is reelected in November. Meade replied: “I hope if Trump gets elected, he would be more supportive of criminal justice reform initiatives.”
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Restricting voting rights for those with felony convictions disenfranchises the demographic groups most affected by mass incarceration. If more people with felony convictions were able to vote, the electoral map might look a lot different, as there would be a stronger representation of marginalized communities in states like Florida and Texas.
The discussion over voting rights reflects a broader conversation we need to have about social justice,rehabilitation and civic duty. Continuing to impose harsh restrictions, even after the end of a person’s sentence, leaves millions of Americans voiceless in the electoral process.
The right to vote should be a universal principle, not one restricted by the inequities of the criminal justice system.
Marla Bautista is a military fellow columnist at USA TODAY Opinion.