Gregory's ServerLike, are you really still allowed run for office if you've been found guilty of cheating in previous elections? #USPols
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16 comments
 @barney @urbanfoxe  It can't be fixed -- that would require an amendment to the Constitution, and the Republicans won't allow that. The Constitution's framers built our democracy to withstand many kinds of attack, but not that of an entire political party that is committed to a fascist revolution, and controls half of our state and federal governmental bodies. There is a federal statute, 18 U.S.C. §2383, which states "Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the US or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States." DOJ might have prosecuted Trump under that statute, but they didn't, and now it's too late. I should add, I'm not a lawyer, and I have no idea how feasible it would have been for DOJ to obtain a conviction under 18 U.S.C. §2383. Trump obviously did what the statute says, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's easy to get a conviction in court.   And this wouldn't be the first time either... In the 1920 election Eugene Debs, of the Socialist Party of America, ran for president from a jail cell. He got 3.4% of the vote or just under a million votes  @aggualaqisaaq @urbanfoxe You seem to be implying that Debs was convicted for cheating in an election. That is not the case. He was convicted of defying an injunction against a strike by the American Railway Union, of which he was a leader. I think it depends on the office. State offices may prohibit it if that what their constitution says but running for president is spelled out in the US constitution. Basically just be a natural citizen 35+ who has lived in the US for the last 14 yrs. Technically you could be in prison, win and I guess be president from there. But we're charting new territory no one anticipated.  @urbanfoxe I'm no expert, but from what I've heard in interviews with people who are, there's nothing in the constitution that prevents a convicted felon from running for office from a prison cell. That surprised me and it seemed like a loophole. Until I thought about the way baseless prosecutions were used to unseat Lula in Brazil, paving the way for the Bolsonaro Presidency. @strypey @urbanfoxe I was honestly more surprised to learn that he'd (probably) be able to vote, as a convicted felon. It seems many states have come a long way in the last 5-10 years as far as convicts' political rights go  |
@urbanfoxe
Strangely, yes.
You're allowed to run for office, even if you're a convicted criminal whose crime was cheating in a previous election.
Even if you conspired with a foreign enemy to overthrow the US government, you're still allowed to be president.