On Apr. 18, the Minnesota Senate passed the Omnibus Elections Bill in a 35-32 vote, which included a Minnesota Voting Rights Act. Sen. Jim Carlson (DFL-Eagan) authored the bill, explaining that it “protects and expands the freedom to vote for people across the state, encourages voter participation, and prevents harassment of election workers.”

Minnesota had then highest voter turnout rate in the country in the 2016, 2018, and 2020 elections; according to Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon’s website, 79.96% of eligible voters voted in the 2020 general election.

Despite these high levels of voter participation, a November 2023 ruling by the Eighth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals has made it more difficult for people to ensure their right to vote. That’s where the Minnesota Voting Rights Act comes in. The Appeals Court’s decision removed the right for citizens to sue against discriminatory policies under Section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act, which prohibits voting standards against a citizen’s race. The Minnesota Voting Rights Act will combat this decision by allowing citizens to protect their voting rights and sue against discriminatory voting practices within the state.

“I think the [Appeals Court] ruling is very, very controversial, but voting rights should be very much a guaranteed right for any citizen of the United States,” junior Cerena Karmaliani said.

“And the fact that there is something threatening that is kind of disturbing.” Similarly, sophomore Evan Morris believes the Minnesota Voting Rights Act will fortify voters’ rights, as long as it’s written properly. “I would want to be careful with making sure that all the fine details are streamlined … If it really is doing what it says, I think that could be a great way to help address some of
the systemic issues that we have.”

Other protections, such as ensuring high schoolers the ability to pre-register to vote, were approved alongside the act in the Senate vote.

“I think that in Minnesota, there’s not a problem yet,” US History teacher Jon Peterson said. “But it sounds like what the legislature is
doing is saying that this could be a problem, and we want to get ahead of it … so having a stronger law … would make a lot of sense.”

Next, the bill will return to the House of Representatives to approve the changes, and then Gov. Tim Walz will make the final decision.