United States – On Wednesday, the Minnesota Supreme Court affirmed a law passed last year by Governor Tim Walz, who is on the Democratic ticket as the vice-presidential candidate, and restores the voting right to felons upon their release from prison, as reported by Reuters.
The court did not consider the overall legitimacy of the law; instead, the court decided that the conservative group that brought the case against the law, the Minnesota Voters Alliance, could not pursue the case for legal reasons.
Political Context and Criticism
In a statement, founder of the arts alliance Doug Seaton said, the act avoids the constitutionaly required assessments of the law.
Walz is a two-term governor, and he was announced on Tuesday as the partner of Kamala Harris, now a Democratic presidential candidate. The two were moving to Wisconsin and Michigan on Wednesday in their first campaign tour as the White House candidates.
The law in question permits felons to vote after being discharged from jail, although being on parole or probation. Minnesota does not allow inmates to exercise their right to vote as long as they serve their term behind bars.
Republican presidential campaign of nominee Donald Trump criticized Walz on Tuesday for supporting the law while convicted in New York this year of 34 felonies of falsification of business records to cover up a payment of hush money paid to a porn star.
Trump’s Response
Trump resides and votes in Florida, a state that follows the rule of the jurisdiction where a felony conviction occurred to decide whether the individual can vote. By the law of New York, like the one in Minnesota, Trump is free to cast his vote despite being a convict unless he is in jail during the election period, as reported by Reuters.
Trump has pleaded not guilty and said there exists no merit to the New York case as it is politically motivated by Democrats.