Minnesota appeals court protects felon voting rights after finding a lower court judge overstepped

@ap.news FILE – Minnesota Democratic Secretary of State Steve Simon, left, claps after registering newly eligible voters, June 1, 2023, at Arlington Hills Community Center in St. Paul, Minn. A Minnesota appeals court on Thursday, Nov. 2, stepped in to protect voting rights recently granted to felons under a new law, undoing a pro-Trump judge’s effort to strip two convicts of their right to vote. (AP Photo/Trisha Ahmed, File)

A Minnesota appeals court has stepped in to protect voting rights recently granted to felons under a new law. A judge last month declared unconstitutional the new state law restoring voting rights for convicted felons after they complete any prison term. The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Thursday ruled that the lower court judge overstepped his authority. Mille Lacs County District Judge Matthew Quinn had sentenced two offenders to probation and warned them they no longer were eligible to vote or register. The appeals court undid his action.