(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
 . . . . . . . . . .



Minnesota just restored voting rights for 47,000 people, and Democrats are the reason why [1]

['Daily Kos Staff', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags']

Date: 2023-03-06  

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed a new bill on Friday that abolishes felony voter disenfranchisement for citizens on parole or probation, restoring voting rights to an estimated 47,000 people after the state Supreme Court recently declined to strike down this prohibition. Following passage of this new law, only those who are currently incarcerated for a felony conviction—some 9,000 people—will remain banned from voting in Minnesota.

Consequently, this legislation brings Minnesota into line with two dozen other states that do not disenfranchise anyone after prison or at all, a cohort that includes a majority of the country’s population. Not only have these states expanded the franchise, they’ve curtailed a voting restriction that disproportionately burdens voters of color.

Passed with the support of every Democrat and a handful Republicans in the legislature, this voting rights expansion is one of several that Democrats are aiming to pass this year after regaining full control over state government in the 2022 elections for the first time in eight years.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/3/6/2156551/-Minnesota-governor-signs-law-restoring-voting-rights-to-tens-of-thousands-on-parole-or-probation

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/