Felons can vote in all but a handful of states which easily gives America's felons the numbers to swing key battleground states simply by voting for the first convicted felon candidate they've ever had. Only convicted felons know what it is like to be a convicted felon. Convicted felon Donald Trump is already showing signs that his view of the system is changing. If he keeps it up and makes the right promises he can recapture the White House simply by being the best candidate for felons.
FELONS CAN VOTE!
A lot of people are under the mistaken impression that felons cannot vote. That is not true! Most states allow convicted felons to vote as long as they are not in custody. Others require them to wait until off probation or parole. Hardly any states ban people from voting just for being felons anymore. Unfortunately, felons are a marginalized dejected group who've never truly exercised their voting power. A lot of felons are so fed up with the government that they don't register let alone vote. This election could be different should Trump play his cards right.
FELON VOTES WOULD SWING BATTLEGROUND STATES
Convicted felons made up a little over 8% of eligible voters in 2020. That might not sound like much but if you consider that Joe Biden only beat Trump by 4.4% of the vote (https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/results/president), there are easily enough felons to make Trump win the popular vote this year simply by voting for the only fellow felon on the ballot.
STATISTICS FROM BATTLEGROUND STATES
GEORGIA
Felon Numbers: 15% (2010) = 10,711,908 (total population 2020 census) * .15 = 1,606,782
Disenfranchised = 275,089 (2020)
Biden Votes: 2,473,633
Trump Votes: 2,461,854
Biden Victory Margin: 11,779
Can Felons Vote? Only when off parole/probation.
Prognosis: Georgia has more felons than any other state, so even though they must have served their compete sentences including supervision it should be easy for Trump to find the 12,000 votes he was looking for simply by convincing felons that he is the best candidate for felon rights.
Sources:
https://www.ajc.com/blog/news-to-me/georgia-convicted-felons/GhXp9Ca44siCPtApQXGa7H/
https://felonvoting.procon.org/number-of-people-by-state-who-cannot-vote-due-to-a-felony-conviction/
https://felonvoting.procon.org/state-felon-voting-laws/
https://data.census.gov/profile/Georgia?g=040XX00US13
https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/results/state/georgia/president
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/felony-conviction-rates-are-up-nationwide-these-states-are-reconsidering-how-they-classify-crimes
PENNSYLVANIA
Felon Numbers: Not sure exactly how many felons Pennsylvania has, but the state does have an estimated incarceration rate of 659 per 100,000 people which while lower than the national average is higher than any other country.
Biden Votes: 3,459,923
Trump Votes: 3,378,263
Biden Victory Margin: 81,660
Can Felons Vote? Yes, just not in prison.
Prognosis: There are easily way more than 82,000 felons capable of voting in Pennsylvania this year.
Sources:
https://www.prisonpolicy.org/profiles/PA.html
https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/results/state/pennsylvania/president
https://www.findlaw.com/voting/my-voting-guide/can-felons-vote-in-pennsylvania-.html
MICHIGAN
Felon Numbers: Exact number not known but their court system averages 45,000 new convictions per year (not distinguishing between first timers and repeat offenders).
Biden Votes: 2,804,040
Trump Votes: 2,649,852
Biden Victory Margin: 154,188
Can Felons Vote? Yes, just not in prison.
Prognosis: It would take a lot of work to win Michigan but that state easily has over 155,000 felon voters living there.
Sources:
https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/results/state/michigan/president
https://www.prisonpolicy.org/profiles/MI.html
https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/-/media/Project/Websites/mdhhs/Keeping-Michigan-Healthy/HIVSTI/Training-and-Events/Clean-Slate-Presentation---Safe-and-Just-Michigan.pdf?rev=a6d665dd952146ca9976dc2c34ffea9e&hash=4D1C1277F1B488B316344DCD16ED4BE6
https://www.findlaw.com/voting/my-voting-guide/can-felons-vote-in-michigan-.html
WISCONSIN
Felon Numbers: Over 100,000 released from jail/prison per year.
Biden Votes: 1,630,866
Trump Votes: 1,610,184
Biden Victory Margin: 20,682
Can Felons Vote? Only when off parole/probation.
Prognosis: Yet another state with way more than 21,000 felons that have served their sentences.
Sources:
https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/results/state/wisconsin/president
https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2024/02/28/releases-sex-state/
https://www.aclu-wi.org/en/votingrightscriminalconvictions
ARIZONA
Felon Numbers: Incarceration rate far higher than national average.
Biden Votes: 1,672,143
Trump Votes: 1,661,686
Biden Victory Margin: 10,457
Can Felons Vote? Only when off probation/parole and have no more than one conviction. So, you can have a felon record but if you get convicted again you can never vote again.
Prognosis: Easily over 11,000 one time felons and even if felons were barred entirely there should be plenty of people with misdemeanor records capable of voting with felons should felons be appeased properly.
Sources:
https://www.prisonpolicy.org/profiles/AZ.html
https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/results/state/arizona/president
NEVADA
Felon Numbers: Over 30,000 felony convictions a year, easily enough to cover the gap.
Biden Votes: 703,486
Trump Votes: 669,890
Biden Victory Margin: 33,596
Can Felons Vote? Yes, just not in prison.
Prognosis: Nevada easily has more than 34,000 felons not currently incarcerated.
Sources:
https://nevadacurrent.com/2023/06/15/state-lawmakers-order-up-study-of-largest-part-of-criminal-justice-system-misdemeanors/
https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/results/state/nevada
https://www.nvsos.gov/sos/elections/voters/restoration-of-voting-rights-in-nevada
WHY VOTE FOR TRUMP?
America's felons clearly have the numbers to sway the electoral vote in Trump's favor. Now it is up to Trump to secure the felon vote. He could do that by topping off his continued defiance with simple promises.
SIMPLE PROMISES
If elected, Trump will have the power to pardon anyone for any federal law violation. Promising to use the right amount of that power could secure him the felon vote without pissing off his base too much. Ideally, he should offer to pardon everyone whose ever been convicted of a felony in federal court if they've completed their sentences, are not sex offenders, and vote for him. He would simply be giving a fresh start to people who've been released from prison, have completed all court supervision, and are therefore considered legally rehabilitated.
Pardoning the rehabilitated at the federal level would have a trickle down effect capable of persuading felons that wouldn't directly benefit from the pardons themselves. The President cannot pardon state level convictions, so why would the majority of felons convicted in state courts vote for him? Most convicts in state prisons know at least one person that fits the criteria. This is largely due to federal convicts having previously served time in state prisons and the co-mingling of federal detainees with local inmates in county jails. If voting for Trump would get just one guy they've done time with a fresh start that is still more than Biden is likely willing to offer.
Supplementary promises to smash the system in general would also be highly persuasive for felons. Trump is already challenging many things used to violate felons' rights simply by fighting his cases as aggressively as possible. There is a good chance that case law could emerge at the highest level capable of crippling the ability of law enforcement to target others the way Trump has been targeted. This includes First Amendment challenges to unconstitutional gag orders and a plethora of trial decisions. If the government loses any of them those are victories for the felon community. If Trump loses any of them, his allies are likely to introduce new legislation targeting the tools they view as a threat. Such bills could restrict the ability of judges to gag defendants, end statute of limitations tolling, require actual proof of conspiracies in federal court, or anything else in the name of stopping crooked government officials from weaponizing a rigged system against their enemies.
Promises to reform the prison industrial complex are likely if Trump does any time before the election. Like most first time felons, Trump is experiencing a great awakening by experiencing first hand that a system he benefited from his entire life can and is being used against him. This has already resulted in him backtracking on his prior call to lock up Hillary Clinton. He now thinks locking her up for her crimes would be "a terrible thing." This indicates that Trump's transformation is well under way. If he serves more than a week in county jail he will never be the same. He will get out talking about the horrible conditions, unhealthy food, inadequate healthcare, and all the people he met inside who didn't deserve to be there either. This will likely lead to promises that prison conditions will be improved, innocent people will be freed, and things will be done to keep more people out of prison.
WHAT IF HE BREAKS HIS PROMISES?
He wouldn't dare break promises to the one segment of society most likely to hold him truly accountable. Felons have far larger playbooks than everyone else because they can't be deterred by another man's law. If a felon really wants to hold you accountable all he needs to know is where you are and sometimes not even that. The rest is simple will power and opportunity. All it takes is one man mad at the government to make all the difference. It wouldn't be hard to find a felon willing to pay the ultimate price to make his name live forever.
You never hear about Trump bad mouthing the mafia but you do hear of mobsters being seen at his casinos. The logic here is similar. He doesn't have to worry too much about pissing off politicians because all they do is complain. Felons don't just complain they take action.
WHAT IF HE ALIENATES HIS BASE?
Trump's base is dedicated to supporting him no matter what, so although law and order types would not be happy to hear of him catering to felons or offering pardons, the limited nature of pardons would likely limit the reaction of his base thus not alienating his base to the point of not voting for him. He is more likely to alienate moderates but as the last election shows he already did that. Moderate swing voters are likely to vote for Biden anyway just like they did last time which is why Trump would be better off persuading people who have not voted in years to start doing it again.
WHAT IF BIDEN OFFERS SOMETHING BETTER?
Joe Biden would never cater to felons the way Trump needs to. Biden is already using the label "convicted felon" to discredit Trump in ways likely to make life harder for felons in general. Felons already have to work harder than people of equal skill and experience to make the same amount of money just for having a past conviction. Biden is doing nothing to smash that glass ceiling.
Offering something better would also be a direct contradiction of Biden's prior history mostly from his years in the Senate. In 1994 he introduced the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violent_Crime_Control_and_Law_Enforcement_Act) which contributed to much of the mass incarceration at the federal level in America today. That bill alone banned assault weapons, increased sentences for many crimes, allocated federal funding to states for building prisons in order to enforce mandatory minimum sentencing laws, and banned inmates from receiving grants for higher education. This has resulted in people being locked up for decades just for having guns, sentenced to years in prison even when judges don't want to because mandatory minimums require it, and it propped the revolving door open by making it impossible for most inmates to afford community college while in prison due to being banned from receiving grants.
Biden has never been a friend of the felon community and he shows no sign of starting. His son Hunter Biden was recently convicted of being a drug addict in possession of a firearm and lying on a federal form about his drug use. Hunter wouldn't have had to worry about that for the most part had it not been for laws championed by his father (https://copblaster.com/blast/61341/hunter-biden-trial-why-joe-biden-shouldnt-get-a-fathers-day-gift).
Biden's record is so anti-felon that just being a felon should Trump a better candidate for you. Trump at least has an incentive to attack the system Biden stands behind.
WHAT IF TRUMP TARGETS POLITICAL OPPONENTS?
Then he would be just like his predecessor. The last time Trump was in office he had some protesters beat up and enacted some questionable laws but didn't have much of an impact on the felon community overall. He didn't have Hillary Clinton prosecuted over her emails which felons view favorably. Felons would be much better off with Trump in the White House targeting his enemies then they would with Biden in the White House targeting his enemies with tactics that dehumanize felons.
Trump's worst abuse of power was the excessive use of force against protesters and his backing of brutal police tactics. That created a huge problem in the streets but didn't result in a lot of prison sentences. People are much better off getting tear gassed and beaten by the cops than going to prison.
WHAT IF TRUMP DEPORTS ILLEGAL ALIENS?
America's felons would be better off with less competition in the workplace, so it makes sense for felons to support deporting illegal aliens for the most part. However, the government often wastes considerable resources imprisoning people just for crossing the border which is not good for America's felons. The imprisonment forces America's felons to serve prison time with illegal aliens where they must compete for the same resources. Plus, nobody deserves to be in prison just for crossing the border, so why are they there? Deporting new arrivals is one thing but locking them up just for crossing the border is another.
The only American felons better off if the border is not secured are the ones doing business with illegal aliens. A lot of meth dealers now say that the success of their business depends on who has the best Mexican. Those guys likely oppose any type of immigration law enforcement because they can't simply cook their own meth anymore due to laws regulating meth ingredients. This could be a touchy subject in which many felons favor border security for their own economic gain while those selling meth are likely to oppose it simply because it makes their business more difficult. Junkies only care about getting high, so convincing them to vote for someone who wants to deport their hookup's supplier could be a problem.
WHAT OTHER CONFLICTS EXIST?
Other issues likely to impact felon voting decisions this year are mostly racial. It would also likely be difficult to convince many of America's liberal felons to vote felon if the felon is Trump.
Felons of color will likely feel conflicted due to Trump's allegedly racist past. However, felons of color who've done time have likely learned that everyone is racist. In prison everyone is segregated based on race, everyone thinks their race is the best, and everyone works to further the agenda of their race over others. Felons of color don't think as lowly of white felons as society in general thinks of all felons. The label "convicted felon" is a far greater disability than just being a person of color.
Felons with illegal alien friends and relatives are likely to have doubts but those doubts would not be enough to send them Biden's way if Trump were to make the clemency offer proposed in this article. The clemency offer would benefit too many people to reject it over deportation. Especially when you consider that Biden also deports a lot of people, he just doesn't propose doing it on such a massive scale.
Black felons are likely to feel conflicted due to the never ending battle between Trump, his base, and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. They're likely fear that another Trump term would make lives worse for black people including themselves. This group is not likely to turn Trump without some drastic measures like the clemency proposed in this article. Without a direct benefit to many black felons they're not going to support someone they believe to be racist. They also are not likely to abandon a ticket with a black Vice President (VP). A black person voting against a black candidate is like a felon voting against a felon candidate. Either way the black felon voter has people to throw under the bus, so which will it be? Will it be their fellow felons or fellow black people? The answer could be surprising.
HOPE FOR FELONS IN THE WORKPLACE
Imagine what it could mean for felons in the workplace if being a convicted felon can't stop a candidate from being hired for an important job like President of the United States? It could make companies finally feel more comfortable hiring felons because just being a felon wouldn't be such a big deal anymore. It would make felons feel more confident seeking opportunities in the workplace. Just the acknowledgement from the Republican Party that someone should not be automatically disqualified from an important job just for being a felon is a step in the right direction. It will soon be time to take the next step.
GOOD FOR THE ECONOMY
Have you ever wondered how felons end up homeless? It is often due to drugs or mental illness but not having a job is the main culprit. Fighting the stigma of being labeled "convicted felon" by electing a felon President would likely lead to more job opportunities for felons.
ANTI-SOCIAL APPEAL
If you're a felon voter still on the fence despite Trump being a better candidate for felons then hopefully you're alienated by society enough to vote for who you consider the worst candidate. If you truly hate society and think Trump is the worst option then how better to get back at society than voting for Trump?
CONCLUSION
America's felons have an important decision to make in November. This is the first time felons have had the opportunity to elect one of their own and should not pass it by. However, Trump must promise to make felons' lives great again.