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The Minnesota House approved an election policy bill Monday that would grant voters the ability to sue over potentially discriminatory practices, creating a state response to a court decision that upended a similar federal law.

The 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled last year that the federal Voting Rights Act doesn’t give individuals the right to sue since they’re not explicitly named in law. Because Minnesota is in the circuit, it is covered by that federal ruling.

That’s why Rep. Emma Greenman, DFL-Minneapolis, said it’s important for Minnesota to pass its own provisions to help voters.

“Enshrining these protections in Minnesota law has always been important but it is now critical given the 8th Circuit decision that upended decades of precedent and held that voters themselves no longer can challenge racially discriminatory laws and redistricting plans under the VRA,” she told colleagues before the 69-62 vote.

State courts would be able to consider several factors when determining if a law or ordinance is discriminatory, including whether people in a protected class have difficulty obtaining ballots or would be unduly held back from winning office.

Republicans said it’s not the state’s place to weigh in. Rep. Harry Niska, R-Ramsey, tried unsuccessfully to strike the voting rights act measure from the bill.

“What this does is takes our disagreement — or the majority’s disagreement at least — with the federal interpretation of law and tries to import that or create a state law,” Niska said. “The problem with creating an analogue to federal law is that the analogy doesn’t work.”

A companion bill is also nearing a floor vote in the Senate.

The broader election policy bill approved by the House also:

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2025 Minnesota legislative session

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2024 Minnesota legislative session

Dana Ferguson

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An election policy bill cleared the Minnesota House on a party-line vote. It includes technical updates to voting procedures and creates a new pathway to sue over election laws viewed as potentially discriminatory.

House OKs Minnesota elections bill addressing voter lawsuits, deep fake penalties

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