On Wednesday, the Minnesota Supreme Court upheld a 2023 law that restores voting rights to people formerly convicted of felony level crimes as soon as they exit prison.
Prior to that law’s passage, people convicted of such crimes not only had to wait until they got out of prison to have their voting rights reinstated, but also had to complete probation and parole, often a lengthy process.
The court’s decision could positively affect more than 50,000 Minnesotans with past felony convictions on their records, just months before the November general election and during the current primary election voting period, which is happening in the state right now.
Minnesota Voters Alliance, a conservative group claiming to be an “election integrity” organization, challenged the law, which is called the Re-Enfranchisement Act. But a lower court previously found that the organization had failed to prove that the state legislature overstepped its authority, and deemed the suit “fundamentally flawed,” as the group, formally representing a few conservative residents in the lawsuit, claimed to have had standing based on those individuals being state taxpayers.
The Minnesota Supreme Court, in a unanimous ruling, agreed with the lower court’s findings, and also rejected the standing argument, noting that simply being a taxpayer doesn’t allow people to challenge a state law.
“Taxpayer standing exists only when the central dispute involves alleged unlawful disbursements of public funds; when standing would not otherwise exist to challenge a substantive law, a taxpayer cannot manufacture standing by pointing to expenditures that are incidental to implementing the law,” the court’s ruling stated in part.
State Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) celebrated the ruling in a post on X.
“Fantastic news: the Minnesota Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to the Restore the Vote Act, which restored voting rights to 55,000 people in our state,” Ellison said. “This is a great day for democracy. I encourage all eligible voters to celebrate by getting out and voting in our August 13 primary election and November 5 general election.”
The court’s decision “is great news for voters,” said Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon. “With Minnesotans already voting ahead of the August 13 Primary and making a plan to vote in the November 5 Presidential Election, it is critically important that every voter understands their rights.”
Twenty-three states across the country, plus Washington D.C., reinstate the voting rights of people with past felony convictions as soon as they’re released from prison or jail. Two states, plus D.C., allow state residents to vote while they’re in prison, too.
The statute has already become a talking point on the presidential campaign, as it was signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz (D), who was named as Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate earlier this week. Former President Donald Trump has harangued Walz for signing the law, deriding him for “embracing policies to allow convicted felons to vote” — overlooking the fact that Trump himself has been convicted of multiple felony level crimes.
Laws restoring voting rights for formerly incarcerated people right away upon release are popular. According to one survey conducted in 2022, 56 percent of American voters back the idea of restoring voting rights both for people leaving prison and for those currently incarcerated, with only 35 percent opposed. Even with the survey including the wording describing the restoration of rights for “citizens with felony convictions both inside and outside of prison,” 50 percent backed the idea, with only 41 percent opposed.