Court Upholds Ban on Knowing Falsehoods About Voting Mechanics and Voter Eligibility Aimed at Preventing Voting
Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Ellison, decided yesterday by Judge Nancy Brasel (D. Minn.), upheld this new Minnesota statute:
(a) No person may, within 60 days of an election, cause information to be transmitted by any means that the person:
- intends to impede or prevent another person from exercising the right to vote; and
- knows to be materially false.
(b) The prohibition in this subdivision includes but is not limited to information regarding the time, place, or manner of holding an election; the qualifications for or restrictions on voter eligibility at an election; and threats to physical safety associated with casting a ballot.
An excerpt of the analysis:
MVA brings this suit because of the Election Law’s intersection with another new law, the Re‐Enfranchisement Act, which restored voting rights to individuals with a felony conviction during any period when they are not incarcerated for the offense. Believing that the Re‐Enfranchisement Act violates the Minnesota Constitution, MVA brought a lawsuit in state court challenging that law as unconstitutional as well, arguing that the Minnesota Constitution “requires a Governor’s pardon, full service of a felony sentence with concomitant discharge, or full restoration of ‘civil rights’ by legislative act, before those convicted of felonies can, constituent with the Constitution, register to vote and vote.” The Minnesota Supreme Court dismissed the suit, determining that the plaintiffs lacked taxpayer standing. Thus, the Re‐Enfranchisement Act remains in place, including for the 2024 election cycle.
MVA intends to tell prospective voters in this cycle that “[f]elons still serving their sentences
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