What would it mean if approximately 50,000 Minnesota residents who live, work, raise their families and pay taxes in the community regained their legal right to vote?
Activists and policy makers are looking to turn that question into reality. On Feb. 9, state Rep. Raymond Dehn (DFL-Minneapolis) introduced a bill to the Minnesota House of Representatives that would restore a citizen’s right to vote after incarceration. Twelve additional state representatives now co-sponsor the bill.
In this video, created by South High VOICES students Keeler Gonzalez, Lindsey Morris and Marie Berlovitz, local voting rights advocates discuss how ex-offender disenfranchisement makes it more difficult for felons to rehabilitate and reintegrate into community, and how the practice also disproportionately affects people of color – thus impacting the results of local and national elections.
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