Two bills that would grant felons voting rights and illegal immigrants the ability to obtain driver’s licenses were passed by the Minnesota Senate on Feb. 22.
Passed in a 35-30 vote, the “Restore the Vote” bill (pdf) would restore the voting rights of convicted felons immediately after they are released from jail.
The bill’s passage comes less than a week after the Minnesota Supreme Court upheld a current law that prohibits felons from voting while on parole, but noted that the legislature retained the power to decide the issue.
In promoting the bill, Senate President Bobby Joe Champion, a Democrat, said: “We know that in the state of Minnesota right now we have more than 55,000 of our friends, our neighbors, and family members who are not allowed to vote. They should have the right to vote.”…