undefined | Better HN

0 pointsethbr03y ago0 comments

> Perhaps if he goes to jail, he can't run for office?

There is no restriction on a candidate for the US presidency vis-a-vis current or former incarceration. Anyone could constitutionally run a presidential campaign or even serve while in jail. This is because the Supreme Court has held that only the Constitution can set qualification requirements. [0]

The sole, debatable exclusion seems to be the 25th Amendment, which allows the vice president and cabinet (or the president themselves) to shift presidential powers to the vice president when "the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office." [1]

[0] https://fortune.com/2023/03/30/donald-trump-can-still-run-fo...

[1] https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxxv

0 comments

twic3y ago

Indeed, Eugene Debs ran for president while in prison in 1920:

https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/debs-received-millio...

msrenee3y ago

If he is convicted of a felony and does run for president again, then he won't be able to vote, right?

Maybe it'll be an impetus to create a clearer path for convicted felons who served their time and don't reoffend to regain their voting rights. Probably not, but it would be nice.

vlovich1233y ago

Convicted felons should 100% be allowed to vote though. I never quite understood the fear of letting them vote. Indeed keeping them engaged in society instead of ostracizing them feels like it helps prevent them from reoffending.

2 more replies

sowbug3y ago

Many but not all states put conditions on such voting. As you might expect, the severity of a state's restrictions correlates with its political leanings.

https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/felon-voting-ri...

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse