New legislation would repeal a 2015 law that prevents those who were found guilty or pleaded guilty to a felony from running for local or statewide office

Summary

Missouri state Representative Michael Davis has introduced the “Donald J. Trump Election Qualification Act,” a bill allowing individuals convicted of felonies to run for public office if otherwise qualified.

The legislation, named after Donald Trump, seeks to repeal a 2015 state law barring felons from candidacy in local or statewide elections.

Davis argues the law should align with Trump’s election as president despite his 34 felony convictions in New York.

He advocates for reintegration of felons into society, emphasizing their rights as citizens to participate in government and elections.

    • DigitalNirvana@lemm.ee
      851·
      17 hours ago

      IMHO all citizens, in or out of jail should be able to vote. If one is a citizen, one should be automatically registered to vote at 18 yo.

      • kate@lemmy.uhhoh.comEnglish
        32·
        16 hours ago

        i’d go as far as voting at 16, since that’s the age at which you can pay income tax

      • superkret@feddit.org
        17·
        16 hours ago

        IMHO so should residents.
        If you live here, you’re affected by politics, so you should get a say.

        • The Quuuuuill@slrpnk.netEnglish
          9·
          16 hours ago

          several states stripped non citizen residents of their local election voting rights this past election. i find it frankly disturbing

          • TwentySeven@lemmy.world
            31·
            14 hours ago

            Disturbing that you have to be a citizen to vote? I thought that was a given.

            Yes, I am aware that there are a few municipalities out there that allow non citizens to vote, and I’m not necessarily opposed to that, but I do find it strange.

            I certainly wouln’t move to another country and expect to be allowed to vote without being a citizen!

    • ricecake@sh.itjust.works
      151·
      16 hours ago

      Felons actually can vote in Missouri if they’ve completed their sentence. This includes parole and probation terms.

      Permanent disenfranchisement is actually less common than people think. It’s still too common by far, and we need to revisit the reasoning for disenfranchisement while incarcerated or on probation, but in most of the country a felony doesn’t prevent voting permanently.

        • ricecake@sh.itjust.works
          63·
          15 hours ago

          I’m not super interested in defending trump or Missouri, but he was neither sentenced in general nor convicted of a felony, or running for office, in Missouri.

          So other than the name and inspiration, none of this even applies to him.

          I was just pointing out that in Missouri, felons aren’t completely disenfranchised. Yay marginally better civil rights than a lot of people assumed!

            • ricecake@sh.itjust.works
              31·
              13 hours ago

              He was indeed not running for a state or local office in Missouri.

              “A lot of people don’t don’t think about the fact that Donald Trump, if he met all the other requirements, if he was a Missouri resident, could not run for state representative or state Senate,” Davis told the Missouri Independent.

              “He would be precluded from running for these offices but was able to be re-elected president of the United States. So I think that at least causes people to start thinking about the issue a little more than they might otherwise,” Davis added.

              The law in question did not apply to him, and the bill was just named referencing him.

              The entire thing is moot. All I was saying is that Missouri doesn’t permanently disenfranchise felons, and the law being discussed didn’t apply to trump for a variety of reasons.