Minnesota is home to over 1 million citizens with criminal backgrounds. Many of them are low level offenders and a disproportionate rate of the incarcerated are people of color. When someone commits a crime, goes to jail and they pay a fine or whatever their debt to society, the expectation is for them to reintegrate. The reality is, society often does not want them back. And thanks to the disparities in our criminal justice system, that has given the Twin Cities the dubious distinction of having the worst-in-the-nation racial jobs gap. Our Justice 4 All campaign is fighting to close this gap by expanding fair hiring practices, but this fall we’ve turned our focus to defeating the Voter Restriction Amendment.
When someone comes home from the criminal justice system they are faced with housing discrimination, unfair hiring in the workplace and to top it off, have lost the right to vote until they complete probation and are “off paper.” The Voter Restriction amendment will expand discriminatory practices to all of us. J4A leaders know this issue better than anyone else and refuse to see this discrimination enforced on the rest of the state.
The Voter Restriction Amendment is not a practical idea aimed at fixing a problem. No, it is a political strategy to expand discriminatory practices and prevent Minnesotans (specifically communities of color who face economic barriers) from having their voice heard.
It will radically overhaul our current voting system, creating a complicated system of provisional balloting and dismantling absentee and same day voting as we know them. Deployed soldiers will face serious barriers to voting in Minnesota and people in poverty who are highly mobile, homeless and lack the resources to obtain an ID will be forced to cast provisional ballots, many of which are never counted.
The Voter Restriction Amendment is an unfunded mandate whose burden will fall on property tax payers, diverting much needed money away from schools and roads. Minnesota has a solid voting system and we need to protect the right to vote for everyone.
Justin Terrell
Justin is TakeAction Minnesota’s Justice 4 All Program Manager.
