ANOKA, Minn. -- After fighting for years for the right to vote, two Minnesotans are suing to prevent that right from being yanked out from underneath them.
Earlier this year, the Minnesota Legislature decided to restore the right to vote to 50,000 people with felony convictions who were out of prison and living in the community. Jennifer Schroeder and Elizer Darris were among those instrumental in helping win that right – and among the very first in the state to register when voting became legal on June 1.
Now the Minnesota Voters Alliance (along with three individuals) seek to revoke that right and silence the voices and the vote of thousands. MVA filed suit in June challenging the new law, contending it violates the state Constitution, and the Legislature didn’t have authority to end the ban.
The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Minnesota and pro bono co-counsel Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP asked Anoka County District Court today to let them intervene on behalf of Schroeder and Darris to defend the new voting re-enfranchisement law.
AUGUST 7, 2024 UPDATE: The Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision upholds the district court’s ruling, meaning that Minnesotans on felony probation and parole can register and vote.
“Today the court got it right,” said ACLU-MN Staff Attorney David McKinney. “Those who challenged this law suffered no injury from restoring the vote. The constitution empowers the legislature to restore the fundamental right to vote for people like our clients who are convicted of felonies and yet live, work, and worship alongside us. Their participation in civic life is good for building safe communities and a healthy democracy.”
