MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that barring felons from voting doesn't violate the Constitution, a long-awaited decision that arrived just as the DFL-controlled Legislature is preparing to change the law.
DFL'ers are moving to restore voting rights to felons as soon as they're no longer incarcerated. Under current law, those released from jail or prison must wait until they're off probation and have paid their fines to get their voting rights back.
Supporters say that disenfranchising the roughly 50,000 felons on parole or probation violates the core U.S. principle of no taxation without representation. They argue that many of the formerly incarcerated hold jobs, pay taxes and want to be involved in their communities and that disenfranchisement of felons is an enduring systemic racial disparity.
