Minnesota Supreme Court upholds law restoring voting rights to felons upon release from incarceration

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously upheld the year-old law restoring the right to vote to felons upon their release from incarceration.

In an opinion written by Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, the court rejected a challenge to the 2023 law by the Minnesota Voters Alliance. The Anoka County District Court had dismissed the lawsuit and the alliance asked the high court earlier this year to reinstate its challenge.

The decision focused on the issue of legal standing and whether the alliance was in a position to sue. The courts said the alliance didn’t have the right to sue simply because taxpayer money was used to implement the law. The court’s ruling didn’t address the substance of the law because the challenge didn’t get that far.

In late 2023, Anoka County Judge Thomas Lehmann dismissed the lawsuit. Then the state Supreme Court took up the case on expedited review, bypassing the Court of Appeals.

During oral arguments on April 1, Assistant Attorney General Nathan Hartshorn asked the court to uphold Lehmann’s dismissal and issue an opinion in support of the law.

The timing was critical because early voting has already begun and this year’s primary is next week. An estimated 57,000 felons are newly eligible to vote. Those Minnesotans “need to hear from this court whether they’re taking their freedom into their hands by casting a ballot,” Hartshorn said.

Hartshorn said the lawsuit itself had instilled “fear and uncertainty and doubt in tens of thousands of people” about whether they could vote.

James Dickey, a lawyer for the conservative Upper Midwest Law Center, argued on behalf of the alliance that the 2023 Legislature exceeded its authority in passing the law. He said the Legislature could only restore the right to vote as part of broader package of civil rights, not on its own. The other rights to which he referred are the right to hold office and serve on a jury.

Before the new law, those who had been convicted of felonies couldn’t vote until they were off probation and had paid all fines related to their convictions, which for some could take years or decades. Supporters said the right to vote helps newly released felons become invested in their communities and more successful in their rehabilitation.

The change had broad support among DFLers, including Attorney General Keith Ellison, who had been pushing it for two decades. Secretary of State Steve Simon has been conducting a statewide education campaign about the change.

Some Republicans, however, objected to the new law, saying it would disproportionately help DFL candidates. They also argued that losing the ability to vote was a consequence of breaking the law.

The legality of felon voting rights has been before the state Supreme Court prominently in recent years. In February 2023, the court said that barring felons from voting was constitutional. Even before the court ruling, legislators were moving to “Restore the Vote” and Gov. Tim Walz was supportive.

States vary widely in their approach to voting rights. In more than 20 states, including Minnesota, felons regain the right immediately on release, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Signing on to Hudson’s opinion were Justices Anne McKeig, Gordon Moore, Karl Procaccini and Paul Thissen. New Justices Sarah Hennesy and Theodora Gaïtas, who were not on the court when the case was heard, didn’t participate in the decision.