ACLU sues Minnesota over voting restrictions for some felons [View all]

ST. PAUL — The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota on Monday, Oct. 21, sued the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office arguing the state’s voting laws are unconstitutional as they deny tens of thousands of people on supervision or probation the right to vote.

Four Minnesotans barred from voting due to previous felony offenses and current probation status filed the lawsuit with the ACLU in Ramsey County District Court on Monday. The four are among 52,000 Minnesotans who can’t vote because of their supervision or probation status.

Under current law, those convicted of a felony lose the right to vote until after they’ve completed their sentence including prison time, probation, parole or conditional release. A campaign to restore the vote to felons who complete their prison time or who aren’t sentenced to imprisonment failed in the Legislature earlier this year.

But attorneys with the ACLU said they would rather take the decision to the courts following inaction in the Legislature. And they said the quick resolution of the case could be key to getting thousands of Minnesotans the right to vote ahead of the 2020 election.

Read more: https://www.southernminn.com/faribault_daily_news/news/state/article_4b4f733e-4070-58e5-82f2-ee2589d8a7e6.html