Minnesota Appeals Court rules Mille Lacs County judge can't block voting

The state Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that a central Minnesota judge exceeded his authority when he tried to block at least a half dozen people with felony convictions from voting in the upcoming election.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who supported a petition against the judge's order, celebrated the Appeals Court decision in a post on X Thursday as he extended a welcome "to all who are planning to vote."

The decision comes days before the Nov. 7 election, the first since DFL legislators passed a new law that restores voting rights for people with felony convictions. They're eligible as soon as they are released from incarceration, where before they had to wait until they were off probation and had paid all fines connected to their conviction.

In October, Mille Lacs County Judge Matthew Quinn declared that law "unconstitutional" in a series of unexpected supplemental sentencing orders for at least six individuals on probation with felony convictions. In the identical orders, he said they are prohibited from "registering to vote, or voting, or attempting to vote."

"To do so is a criminal act which can be investigated, charged, and prosecuted in the normal course," Quinn wrote.

The attorney for two individuals prohibited from voting petitioned to block Quinn's orders, a move Ellison's office backed in court. In its ruling, the Appeals Court said Quinn "had no authority to declare a statute unconstitutional ... in a supplemental sentencing order."

A "supplemental sentencing order declaring a legislative act unconstitutional is outside the sentencing authority granted to district courts by the legislature," Chief Judge Susan Segal wrote.

Quinn also exceeded his lawful authority, Segal wrote, "by independently raising and deciding an issue involving the constitutionality of a statute without the issue being raised by a party."

Quinn's orders last month were a surprise to state officials, who described them as "unprompted attacks" on individual voting rights. "This incident serves as a reminder that the right to vote is precious and often hard-won," Ellison said in a statement.

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, who also signed on to support the petition, said he's grateful the Appeals Court moved quickly. Early voting in local elections across the state is already underway.

"I'm thankful that the Court of Appeals quickly resolved this important issue," he said in a statement. "Minnesotans cherish the right to vote, and it's unacceptable for any person to throw that right into question through an abuse of authority."

Quinn was appointed to the court by former DFL Gov. Mark Dayton in 2017. He was issued a public reprimand from the Minnesota Board on Judicial Standards in 2021 for liking posts on Facebook endorsing candidates for office, as well as the official page for former President Donald Trump. He was also tagged in photos participating in a Trump boat parade.

The state's top public defender, Bill Ward, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota also supported the petition against Quinn's orders.

The state estimates the law change will restore voting rights to more than 55,000 Minnesotans. It's facing a separate legal challenge trying to undo the new law.