Min­neso­ta Supreme Court hear­ing case to restore vot­ing rights to felons

The Min­neso­ta Supreme Court is hear­ing argu­ments Mon­day regard­ing the restora­tion of vot­ing rights to con­vict­ed felons in the state upon their release from prison.
Last year, Min­neso­ta passed a law restor­ing the right to vote to 55,000 Min­nesotans on pro­ba­tion, super­vi­sion, and work release. Pro­ba­tion had to be com­plet­ed in order to have one’s vot­ing rights restored. 
Anoka Coun­ty Judge Thomas Lehmann ruled against a law­suit from the Min­neso­ta Vot­ers Alliance, which said the suit lacked proof that the state’s leg­is­la­ture over­stepped when it autho­rized expand­ing vot­ing rights to felons. The alliance argued that felons could not vote “unless restored to civ­il rights,” mean­ing that felons would need to receive all of their civ­il rights back, not just some. 
“[The law] con­flicts with the Min­neso­ta Con­sti­tu­tion, which lim­its vot­ing rights to those who have been con­vict­ed of felony crimes and who have not yet been restored to civ­il rights because it only attempts to restore the civ­il right to vote,” said James Dick­ey, an attor­ney work­ing on behalf of the Min­neso­ta Vot­ers Alliance. …