Can Someone Convicted of a Crime Run for Office?
There’s no federal law banning those convicted of crimes from running for higher office, which means that federal offices like the U.S. president or congressperson are available to anyone, no matter their criminal background. That’s what allowed for Eugene Debs’ 1920 presidential campaign, which he conducted while incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution, Atlanta. It’s also what allowed Donald Trump to return to higher office in 2024 despite his felony convictions.
But local election laws are determined at the state level, so there are several states and municipalities where people with criminal records are prevented from running—or, if they win, from serving.
That’s what happened to Larry Sapp, who won a 2021 election to serve as a trustee in Sauk Village, Ill., but was deemed ineligible because of two drug convictions from 1988 and 1998.
Marlon Chamberlain, executive director of the Illinois Coalition to End Permanent Punishments, argues that Sapp’s case indicates of a larger issue with the law as it pertains to the formerly incarcerated.
“People with arrest and conviction records get lumped in with people who are out committing crimes, and there has to be a distinction,” Chamberlain tells A&E Crime + Investigation, noting that in Illinois, those with felony convictions are not allowed to do a variety of activities, ranging from owning a falcon to going to a bingo hall. “I don’t know what the rationale is for not being allowed to be at a bingo game.”
Chamberlain, who was incarcerated as a youth on drug charges in Iowa, is also banned from running for office in Illinois. When asked if he would run for office should the law be lifted, he demurs.
“For me, it’s about community. I don’t want to self-select,” he says, noting that he does believe it’s time that the “blanket restriction” is lifted.
As for Hoskins, she frames it not within the context of the rights of the formerly imprisoned, but rather the rights of the electorate.
“This isn’t about second chances,” she says. “It’s about whether democracy allows participation and voter choice.”
Who Has Won Office After Getting Out of Prison?
Although Illinois doesn’t allow the formerly incarcerated to hold office, other states have more lax laws. In 2020, Tarra Simmons became the first formerly incarcerated person to ever serve in the Washington State legislature when she was elected state representative for the 23rd district. In 2024, Yusef Salaam was elected to serve New York City’s city council, a remarkable turnaround, given that at the age of 15 he was wrongly convicted in the notorious “Central Park 5” case. He was released from prison after eight years, and his conviction was vacated a few years thereafter.
Kentucky state senator Keturah Herron—who spent five days in jail before taking a plea deal for a misdemeanor—say her legal troubles made her better equipped to fight on behalf of her constituents.
“I also believe that people with lived experiences are sometimes a better fit,” Herron tells A&E Crime + Investigation. “As lawmakers, we think about laws in theory but not necessarily in practice. I think being able to think about things that happened in practice gives me an advantage in some situations.”
Herron first started working in politics with the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky. After 2020, she worked on banning no-knock warrants in Louisville after 26-year-old Breonna Taylor was killed by police officers who had entered her home.
When asked about the nature of her misdemeanor, Herron refused to give specifics, saying, “I don’t talk about the charge itself because I don’t think it matters,” adding, “We all make mistakes. Some people get caught. Some people don’t.”
