Section 1.

new text begin [200.50] MINNESOTA VOTING RIGHTS ACT.
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new text begin Sections 200.50 to 200.59 may be cited as the "Minnesota Voting Rights Act."
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Sec. 2.

new text begin [200.51] LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.
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new text begin (a) The legislature finds:
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new text begin (1) that there is a history in Minnesota, as in the United States overall, of public and
private discrimination against individuals who are members of racial, color, or language
minority groups;
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new text begin (2) that the history of discrimination in Minnesota includes but is not limited to the
imposition of qualifications to be an elector or other prerequisites to voting; ordinances,
regulations, and other laws regarding the administration of elections; standards, practices,
procedures, and policies; and other actions, or failures to take action, that have resulted in
impairment of the equal opportunity or ability of individuals who are members of racial,
color, or language minority groups to participate in the political process and nominate or
elect candidates of their choice. For example, that:
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new text begin (i) the state constitution of 1857 limited the right to vote to white residents and Native
American voters "who have adopted the customs and habits of civilization";
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new text begin (ii) the state constitution of 1857 invoked a cultural purity test for Native American
residents, requiring only Native American applicants to appear before a district court to
determine whether each individual was "capable of enjoying the rights of citizenship within
the State";
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new text begin (iii) the Minnesota state legislature twice rejected expanding suffrage to Black residents,
voting down proposed constitutional amendments to do so in 1865 and again in 1867;
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new text begin (iv) the state only granted nonwhite men the right to vote in 1868, three years after the
end of the Civil War;
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new text begin (v) individuals who are members of racial, color, or language minority groups have
faced voter intimidation and disinformation in Minnesota, and that, for example, voters of
color in 2020 in the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul were targeted by a plan to hire and
deploy armed para-militia to polling locations, an attempt that was enjoined by a federal
district court judge; and
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new text begin (vi) civil rights plaintiffs and the federal government have filed litigation and taken other
action against political subdivisions in Minnesota under the Federal Voting Rights Act of
1965, as amended, alleging violations of section 2 of that act;
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new text begin (3) that there are significant racial disparities in political participation in Minnesota,
which are an indication of unequal barriers to the franchise in this state. For example:
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new text begin (i) that, according to data published by the United States Census Bureau, 84.1 percent
of non-Hispanic white citizens in Minnesota were registered to vote as of the November
2020 election. According to the same Census Bureau data, only 79.4 percent of Asian
citizens, 74.7 percent of Latino citizens, and 70.5 percent of Black citizens in Minnesota
were registered to vote as of that election; and
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new text begin (ii) that, according to data published by the United States Census Bureau, 79.9 percent
of non-Hispanic white citizens in Minnesota voted in the November 2020 election. According
to the same Census Bureau data, only 66.1 percent of Black citizens, 64 percent of Asian
citizens, and 62.7 percent of Latino citizens in Minnesota voted in that election;
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new text begin (4) that the history of discrimination in Minnesota includes but is not limited to
discrimination in housing, including the use of redlining, racially restrictive covenants on
housing deeds, and predatory lending practices;
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new text begin (5) that the history of discrimination in Minnesota includes but is not limited to
discrimination in education, employment, health, criminal justice, public works,
transportation, land use, environmental protection, and other areas of life; and
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new text begin (6) that, as a result of this history, individuals who are members of racial, color, or
language minority groups in Minnesota are disadvantaged or otherwise bear the effects of
discrimination in areas that hinder their ability to participate effectively in the political
process.
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new text begin (b) In recognition of these findings and of the protections for the right to vote provided
by the state constitution, and in conjunction with the constitutional guarantees of equal
protection and the freedoms of speech, assembly, consultation, instruction, and petition
under the law and against the denial and abridgement of the voting rights of members of a
racial, color, or language minority group, the legislature enacts the Minnesota Voting Rights
Act and affirms that it is the public policy of this state to:
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new text begin (1) encourage participation in the elective franchise by all eligible voters to the maximum
extent; and
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new text begin (2) ensure that eligible voters who are members of a racial, color, or language minority
group have an equal opportunity to participate in the political processes of this state and to
exercise the elective franchise.
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Sec. 3.

new text begin [200.52] DEFINITIONS.
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