Minnesota Senate approves restoring voting rights for felons

@ap.news Minnesota Senate President Bobby Joe Champion, left, a Democrat from Minneapolis, and Sen. Warren Limmer, a Republican from Maple Grove, joke with each other on the floor of the Minnesota Senate on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, during a break in the debate over Champion’s bill to restore voting rights to felons when they get out of prison before they complete their parole, which Limmer opposes. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Senate has moved to restore voting rights to convicted felons as soon as they get out of prison instead of continuing to require them to complete their parole before they can cast a ballot.

The Senate approved the “Restore the Vote” bill Tuesday, less than a week after the Minnesota Supreme Court upheld the state’s current restrictions and left it up to the Legislature to change them.

Democrats behind the measure say it will help reintegrate former inmates — who are disproportionately people of color — back into society. Republican critics say it’s soft on crime.

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