The Minnesota Supreme Court is hearing arguments Monday regarding the restoration of voting rights to convicted felons in the state upon their release from prison.
Last year, Minnesota passed a law restoring the right to vote to 55,000 Minnesotans on probation, supervision, and work release. Probation had to be completed in order to have one’s voting rights restored.
Anoka County Judge Thomas Lehmann ruled against a lawsuit from the Minnesota Voters Alliance, which said the suit lacked proof that the state’s legislature overstepped when it authorized expanding voting rights to felons. The alliance argued that felons could not vote “unless restored to civil rights,” meaning that felons would need to receive all of their civil rights back, not just some.
“[The law] conflicts with the Minnesota Constitution, which limits voting rights
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