Minnesota Supreme Court upholds law allowing people with felonies to vote

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a 2023 law allowing people convicted of felonies to vote once they are released from prison, a ruling that could impact more than 50,000 Minnesotans just a month before early voting for the November election is set to begin in the state.

The court rejected a challenge from the conservative Minnesota Voters Alliance, finding it lacked standing and failed to prove that the law overstepped the state Legislature’s authority.

The 2023 law expands voting rights to people convicted of felonies who are on probation and parole, about 55,000 people in the state. Previously, convicted felons must have completed probation or parole before being able to vote.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) lauded the ruling, noting he first introduced a measure to expand the voting rights of people with felonies when he was in the state House in 2003.

“This is an extremely important decision. It’s a democracy decision. It’s an inclusion decision, and I couldn’t be happier,” Ellison said in a video message Wednesday.

“So we have a big election coming up on Aug. 13. We have an even bigger election coming up on Nov. 5, and you can participate in it,” he continued. “You can vote, and you can make your mark and give your say so on the governance of our society. And that’s a big deal.” 

“So a 20-year battle, year-and-a-half court battle, but it proves that if you stick to it, you can win,” he added. “So, get out there and vote and tell all your family members to vote. This is a great day. Today is a day of liberation and emancipation, and it’s cause for celebration.”

With the Wednesday ruling, about half of the country, 23 states, allow people convicted of felonies to vote as soon as they are released from custody, according to the Movement Advancement Project. Two states and Washington, D.C., allow them to vote while in prison.

Multiple states have expanded voting rights of people with felonies in the last year, including a judge in April striking down a North Carolina law that made it difficult for them to vote. Similar legal challenges in Mississippi and Nebraska went the other way, however, upholding laws placing restrictions on their voting rights.

Surveys taken since former President Trump was convicted of felonies earlier this year have found the idea of people with felonies voting and being able to hold office more popular than before. 

Fifty-eight percent of GOP voters said in a June survey that people convicted of felonies should be allowed to become president. Just 17 percent of Republicans held that opinion in April.