ST. PAUL 鈥� A Minnesota law creating criminal penalties for spreading misinformation about voting is the latest new election law facing a legal challenge from a conservative-aligned group.
In a lawsuit filed this month in Minnesota U.S. District Court, the Minnesota Voters Alliance and plaintiffs, including a former Republican legislative candidate and GOP activist, are challenging the constitutionality of the misinformation law on First Amendment grounds.
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They claim they could potentially face prosecution for making claims about another new law, one that restores voting rights to felons on probation in Minnesota 鈥� something they鈥檙e also suing to overturn.
鈥淭he Speech Code chills Plaintiffs鈥� speech by giving them reasonable cause to fear prosecution,鈥� the group argues in their complaint filed Sept. 11. 鈥淭he proper remedy for speech that one finds distasteful is not State punishment; it is 'counterspeech'鈥攃alling out false statements and making the case as to why they are false.鈥�
Under the new law passed by the Democratic-Farmer-Labor-controlled legislature this spring, spreading false information about voting 60 days before an election is a gross misdemeanor.
The law applies to information surrounding the time, place and manner of holding an election, qualifications and restrictions on voter eligibility, and threats to physical safety associated with casting a ballot.
Anyone found guilty of knowingly spreading false information with the intent of preventing a person from voting could face up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $3,000.
The Minnesota Voters Alliance pointed to past statements by backers of the new election laws as evidence that questioning felon voting rights could result in prosecution. Earlier this year, House bill sponsor Rep. Emma Greenman, DFL-Minneapolis, told the Minnesota Reformer she used 鈥測ou鈥檙e a felon and you can鈥檛 vote鈥� as an example of disinformation.
鈥淕iven what Minnesota鈥檚 lawmakers have openly said, and given the text of the Speech Code, any person of ordinary firmness would think twice before speaking on this issue,鈥� the complaint says.
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Earlier this year, Minnesota鈥檚 DFL-controlled legislature passed a slate of new election laws, including automatic voter registration, pre-registration for 16 and 17-year-olds, and new rules for reporting on outside spending in political campaigns. Backers dubbed the bills the "Democracy for the People Act."
Another major change was the restoration of voting rights to felons who are no longer incarcerated and are serving probation, a move officials estimate enfranchised more than 50,000 people.
DFL lawmakers passed the legislation after the Minnesota Supreme Court in February upheld a law banning felons from voting. The justices passed the issue back to the Legislature, and in weeks Gov. Tim Walz signed into a law restoring rights.
In June, soon after the first felons on probation started registering to vote, attorneys representing the Minnesota Voters Alliance filed a lawsuit in Anoka County District Court challenging newly restored rights, claiming that the state constitution still requires felons to complete their entire sentence, including probation.
The ACLU and two felons on probation who brought the old law banning felons from voting to the state鈥檚 high court are now attempting to intervene in the conservative group鈥檚 challenge to the law.
鈥淭he ACLU-MN will not stand idly by while a special-interest group attempts to steal their voice through this meritless lawsuit,鈥� staff attorney David McKinney said in an August statement.
The Minnesota Voters Alliance, which describes itself as an 鈥渆lection integrity鈥� watchdog, often engages in legal action against DFL Secretary of State Steve Simon on election laws, including a recent lawsuit involving absentee ballot rules.
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In this case and others, its legal representation has come from the Upper Midwest Law Center, a group connected to the conservative Minnesota think tank the Center of the American Experiment.
Follow Alex Derosier on Twitter or email aderosier@forumcomm.com .
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