The voting rights of thousands of convicted felons in Minnesota are poised to be restored this summer once they leave prison, instead of after they complete parole, thanks to new legislation that is poised to be signed into law by Democratic Gov. Tim Walz.
SF26 was passed by the state Senate earlier this week after the House passed its version of the legislation earlier in the month. Both chambers are controlled by Democrats.
Walz is expected to sign the legislation, referred to as Restore the Vote by its supporters, into law as early as next week, his office said.
The bill also directs corrections officials to inform felons being released from prison about their newly restored voting rights and provide voter registration materials to them.
Once signed, the law will go into effect on July 1 and allow formerly incarcerated felons to vote from that day forward.
The passage of the bill follows several years of legal challenges to the constitutionality of the state’s current law, which prohibits people who are on felony supervision or probation from voting even if their prison term has been completed or they have never spent a day in prison. Removing obstacles to voting for former felons has been the subject of partisan warfare in some states because of the perception that this cohort of voters is more likely to support Democratic candidates.
In 2019, the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota challenged that law, arguing that Minnesota’s constitution guaranteed someone’s right to vote automatically once they were released from jail. The law had prevented more than 50,000 Minnesotans from voting and disproportionately affected people of color, the ACLU said.
Minnesota’s Supreme Court, however, earlier this month kicked the issue to the state legislature, which had been considering the Restore the Vote bill since early…
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