An election integrity advocate is criticizing Minnesota officials for what the group characterizes as a weak defense of a lawsuit aimed at restoring voting rights for convicted felons on probation.
The Minnesota Voters Alliance is asking a Ramsey County District Court to let them intervene in a lawsuit brought by four residents represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota against Secretary of State Steve Simon. The group says Simon and Attorney General Keith Ellison should have asked the court to throw out the case based on a legal technicality.
“They could have put up a lot stronger of a defense, but they didn’t,” said Andrew Cilek, the alliance’s executive director.
Representatives for Simon and Ellison both declined to comment on a pending legal case.
Cilek notes that Democratic state lawmakers and Simon and Ellison have expressed support for allowing felons who are on probation to vote. The Legislature has debated the issue for a number of years, but has not reached an agreement on changing the law.
Cilek says his group believes such a change would need to be made to the state constitution. He’s accused Ellison and Simon of essentially “laying down” with a weak defense to allow courts to decide if felons’ voting rights should be restored rather than the Legislature.
Any party involved in the lawsuit can object to the Minnesota Voters Alliance joining the case. If they do, a judge will decide if the group can be part of it.
The alliance is arguing that state leaders should ask for the case to be dismissed because the plaintiffs do not have a “private cause of action.” Essentially, they don’t have the right to sue to change the law.
Omitting that defense, the voting group claims, is costing taxpayers money in legal fees.