Judge rejects conservative challenge to new Minnesota law restoring felons’ voting rights

By STEVE KARNOWSKI
Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A judge has dismissed a conservative group’s lawsuit challenging a new Minnesota law that restores voting rights for felons once they’ve completed their prison time. Anoka County Judge Thomas Lehmann ruled Wednesday that the Minnesota Voters Alliance lacked the legal standing to sue and failed to prove that the Legislature overstepped its authority when it voted in February to expand voting rights for the formerly incarcerated. Before the change, they had to complete their probation before they could regain their eligibility to vote. The alliance argued that the law violates a clause in the state constitution that says felons cannot vote “unless restored to civil rights.” The judge disagreed. The group’s lawyer says it will appeal.