Mike Nelson
2023-11-19 09:04:05 UTC
ST PAUL, Minn. â Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is
intervening after a Mille Lacs County judge ruled the state's new
felon voting law is unconstitutional.
The law, which passed in the last session and took effect in July,
allows convicted felons to vote once they've completed
incarceration, even if they're still serving probation.
However, the Attorney General's office said in at least six recent
cases, Mille Lacs County District Court Judge Matthew M. Quinn
sentenced people convicted of felonies to probation and declared
that they are not allowed to vote because Minnesota's "Restore the
Vote" law is unconstitutional.
In his orders, Judge Quinn concluded the Legislatureâs passage of
the law did not constitute the kind of âaffirmative actâ he said was
needed to properly restore a felonâs civil rights. So he said he now
has a duty going forward to âindependently evaluate the voting
capacityâ of felons when they complete probation.
Two of the individuals have filed for "writs of prohibition" at the
Minnesota Court of Appeals, claiming the judge exceeded his
authority. Ellison's office is supporting the writs.
âJudicial restraint and respect for the separation of powers are
essential principles of our justice system. When either of those
principles is violated, Minnesotans lose trust in the system â and
Judge Quinn has violated both principles,â Attorney General Ellison
said in a statement. âI support a writ of prohibition as the best
option for quickly keeping Judge Quinn from further violating our
justice system and Minnesotansâ trust.â
âWe cannot allow for any distortion of the rules for voter
eligibility in Minnesota. Local elections in communities across
Minnesota will take place in just 18 days â on November 7. And
voting in Minnesotaâs 2024 presidential nominating primary starts
just 13 weeks from today â on January 19,â Secretary of State Steve
Simon said in a statement. âMinnesota has a proud tradition of
showing up at the polls in nation-leading numbers, and I know that
will continue.â
Judge Quinn, who was appointed by former Democratic Minnesota Gov.
Mark Dayton in 2017, was publicly reprimanded by the ethics board in
2021 for expressing support for Trump on social media and
participating in a âTrump Boat Paradeâ on the Mississippi River
while wearing a Make America Great Again hat and flying Trump flags
from his boat. The county court administration office referred news
media calls seeking comment from Quinn to the Minnesota Judicial
Branch, which said he can't answer questions and, through a
spokesperson, declined to comment on his actions.
Separate lawsuits have been filed specifically challenging the
constitutionality of the Restore the Vote law.
The conservative law firm, Upper Midwest Law Center, requested to
file an amicus or "friend of the court" brief to the MN Court of
Appeals on Friday to support Quinn's order.
https://www.kare11.com/article/news/politics/ellison-ruling-on-
felon-voting-rights/89-f1ad141e-4cb4-425d-9871-e03fdf634f54
intervening after a Mille Lacs County judge ruled the state's new
felon voting law is unconstitutional.
The law, which passed in the last session and took effect in July,
allows convicted felons to vote once they've completed
incarceration, even if they're still serving probation.
However, the Attorney General's office said in at least six recent
cases, Mille Lacs County District Court Judge Matthew M. Quinn
sentenced people convicted of felonies to probation and declared
that they are not allowed to vote because Minnesota's "Restore the
Vote" law is unconstitutional.
In his orders, Judge Quinn concluded the Legislatureâs passage of
the law did not constitute the kind of âaffirmative actâ he said was
needed to properly restore a felonâs civil rights. So he said he now
has a duty going forward to âindependently evaluate the voting
capacityâ of felons when they complete probation.
Two of the individuals have filed for "writs of prohibition" at the
Minnesota Court of Appeals, claiming the judge exceeded his
authority. Ellison's office is supporting the writs.
âJudicial restraint and respect for the separation of powers are
essential principles of our justice system. When either of those
principles is violated, Minnesotans lose trust in the system â and
Judge Quinn has violated both principles,â Attorney General Ellison
said in a statement. âI support a writ of prohibition as the best
option for quickly keeping Judge Quinn from further violating our
justice system and Minnesotansâ trust.â
âWe cannot allow for any distortion of the rules for voter
eligibility in Minnesota. Local elections in communities across
Minnesota will take place in just 18 days â on November 7. And
voting in Minnesotaâs 2024 presidential nominating primary starts
just 13 weeks from today â on January 19,â Secretary of State Steve
Simon said in a statement. âMinnesota has a proud tradition of
showing up at the polls in nation-leading numbers, and I know that
will continue.â
Judge Quinn, who was appointed by former Democratic Minnesota Gov.
Mark Dayton in 2017, was publicly reprimanded by the ethics board in
2021 for expressing support for Trump on social media and
participating in a âTrump Boat Paradeâ on the Mississippi River
while wearing a Make America Great Again hat and flying Trump flags
from his boat. The county court administration office referred news
media calls seeking comment from Quinn to the Minnesota Judicial
Branch, which said he can't answer questions and, through a
spokesperson, declined to comment on his actions.
Separate lawsuits have been filed specifically challenging the
constitutionality of the Restore the Vote law.
The conservative law firm, Upper Midwest Law Center, requested to
file an amicus or "friend of the court" brief to the MN Court of
Appeals on Friday to support Quinn's order.
https://www.kare11.com/article/news/politics/ellison-ruling-on-
felon-voting-rights/89-f1ad141e-4cb4-425d-9871-e03fdf634f54