Strong Democracy Powered By Minnesotans
There are over 50 thousand Minnesotans who are living throughout our state that are on probation or parole. These people are mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, and our neighbors, who are living in the community, working to provide for their families, paying their taxes and contributing to our state. They are people that have valuable insights and have proximity to the most pressing issues in communities throughout Minnesota. Yet, because of a conviction in their past, these same people are still denied their fundamental right to vote.
Now is a critical time to bring forth legislation that further secures our democracy and defends our right to free and fair elections. Restored voting rights to our community members will give us a chance to center voices that have been silenced in the past.
Additionally, it is important to note that voting accessibility — early in-person, by mail, or on election day — is a vital component of the free practice of democracy with consideration to language, disability, and transportation barriers.
Accessibility is freedom.
Strengthening Our Democracy Through Legislation
Last week, my colleagues and I introduced House File 9, chief authored by fellow first-term legislator, Representative Greenman, aiming to build a strong, inclusive democracy that will:
- Prohibit intimidating and harassing voters or elections officials and using deceptive practices to disenfranchise voters.
- Ensure state and local elections officials can access the critical federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) funds they need for election security and infrastructure.
- Establish automatic voter registration, allows 16- and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote, and restores the right to vote for Minnesotans who are on probation or parole.
- Takes steps to increase transparency and unveil who is spending money to influence our elections,modernizes the Political Contribution Refund (PCR) program, replacing it with Democracy Dollars coupons that are available to all registered Minnesota voters.
- Improve Minnesota’s redistricting process. It sets fair criteria for lawmakers to follow when drawing and evaluating maps and creates a public process to solicit Minnesotans’ input, make redistricting data available to the public, and provide advance notice of maps and hearings.
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