MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, state Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell, and Chief U.S. Probation Officer Kito Bess will be at the Federal Courthouse in downtown Minneapolis Friday morning as convicted felons who’ve served their prison term register to vote in Minnesota.
Simon said under the law that took effect June 1st, 55,000 or more Minnesotans are getting back their right to vote.
“We want to make sure that they know about it,” Simon said. “We know from the experience in other states that sometimes they don’t come to know about it and they don’t make that decision whether or not to participate. We just want to give people the choice. No one has to vote, of course, but we want folks who have the right to vote back, to know that they do.”
A group called the Minnesota Voters Alliance is challenging the constitutionality of the law in court.
Simon said he doesn’t expect any problems and it’s “full steam ahead, implementing this law just as it was passed.”
