The Minnesota Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on Monday regarding the challenge to the state’s restoration of voting rights for felons.
Last year, a law was passed that granted the voting rights back to 55,000 individuals in Minnesota who were on probation, supervision, and work release. Prior to this change, they were required to finish their probation before being eligible to vote again.
Anoka County judge dismisses challenge to Minnesota voting law by the Minnesota Voters Alliance, stating that the law does not violate the state constitution. The alliance contended that the law infringes upon the clause stating that felons cannot vote “unless restored to civil rights.” They argued that this language encompasses all civil rights, not just a select few.
Anoka County Judge Thomas Lehmann has ruled that the alliance does not have the legal standing to sue and has not been able to provide evidence that the Legislature exceeded its authority when it decided to expand voting rights for individuals who were previously incarcerated.
The state’s Supreme Court will now hear the group’s appeal of that decision. The arguments are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.
Advocates argued that the disenfranchisement of felons has an unfair impact on people of color due to biases in the legal system.
In November, the Minnesota Court of Appeals dismissed another effort to invalidate the law on similar grounds. They determined that a lower court judge had exceeded their authority by declaring the law unconstitutional.
In addition to Minnesota, there are twenty-two other states that have laws similar to Minnesota’s, where felons have their right to vote automatically restored upon their release.
