Donald Trump was judged to be guilty. Can he now contest for the US presidency?

In the first-ever criminal trial of a former president in US history, former President Donald Trump was found guilty, a ruling that may have an effect on the next election. Despite scandals, Donald Trump leads Biden in the polls; however, the outcome of the most recent trial could change the dynamics of the election.

In the first-ever criminal prosecution of a former US president in the history of the country, Republican nominee and former president Donald Trump was found guilty. Five months before Election Day, the political landscape may change as a result of the most recent guilty decision in Donald Trump's criminal trial in Manhattan.

The front-runners in the US presidential contest, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, have found themselves in an unusual predicament this time around before November's general election. Given that one of the front-runners has a criminal record, this highlights a unique situation in US political history.

Despite surviving two impeachments and a plethora of other scandals, it is interesting that Donald Trump leads Joe Biden in the majority of surveys. He was found guilty on May 30 of fabricating company papers as part of a plot to pay a porn actress who claimed they had an encounter hush money in order to illegally influence the 2016 election.

The US Constitution stipulates that a candidate for president must be at least 35 years old, a citizen of the US, and have been in the nation for 14 years in order to be eligible to run for office. Therefore, his eligibility to run for president will not be affected by a criminal conviction. The former US President may still run for office even if he received a prison sentence prior to the election. A conviction might lose Trump votes in the next elections, according to opinion polls.

As long as Donald Trump stays out of jail in New York state, he is allowed to vote in Florida in November's election. Donald Trump is a resident of Florida, where voters with felony convictions are subject to certain restrictions under state law.

"His rights depend on his sentencing," said Michael McDonald, a political scientist at the University of Florida, in a social media post on X (previously Twitter). It is well known that he kept track of his state's felony disenfranchisement laws, which differ from those of other states for citizens convicted of felonies committed outside of the state.

Blair Bowie of the Campaign Legal Center, in a post, stated, “If a Floridian’s voting rights are restored in the state of conviction, they are restored under Florida law," reported AP. He highlighted that Florida's complex rules often confuse people without Donald Trump's legal resources.

Regarding Donald Trump, it is specified by New York law that the ability to vote may only be taken away from someone who has been found guilty of a felony while they are in prison. A statute passed by the Democratic Assembly of New York in 2021 states that, even while they are on parole, their voting rights are immediately restored upon release.

Even if he wins the presidency again, Donald Trump won't be able to clear his name of state charges in New York because the president may only pardon federal offenses.