Good morning. Soak up the weekend warmup before you fall back.
Now we wait for the state Supreme Court to render its ballot verdict. Justices held a fast-paced hearing Thursday on a lawsuit seeking to keep former President Donald Trump from 2024 ballots in Minnesota. You never want to gauge a case’s viability based on the questions asked, but it was hard to miss the skepticism from the bench. Justices clearly don’t want this in their lap, and the chief justice said as much when pressing the attorney for those wanting to exclude Trump from next year’s ballot: “Should we do it even if we could do it and we can do it?” Justice Natalie Hudson also suggested allowing each state to have a court as a presidential ballot gatekeeper could lead to chaos. MPR’s Dana Ferguson has a writeup on the hearing, which attracted wide interest judging by the thousands who viewed it on our livestream.
Our judicial-minded political reporter also has the story on a Court of Appeals ruling on the state’s new voting rights restoration law for people with felony records. Dana says the court took action against a central Minnesota judge who barred at least six defendants from voting as part of their sentences. The court granted a writ of prohibition against Mille Lacs County District Court Judge Matthew Quinn two weeks after he handed down sentences that contained an identical memo calling a new voting law unconstitutional. In the order, Chief Judge Susan Segal wrote that Quinn had no authority to declare unconstitutional the law that allows people with felony convictions to vote after they complete their prison sentences. And Segal said Quinn’s actions were “unauthorized by law.”
Another challenge to the law is still pending — a case in Anoka County. We’ll keep tabs on that. In the meantime, MPR News host Angela Davis had an hourlong discussion on the law, which went into effect this year.
Time for a Dean Phillips presidential run check in: His first town hall in New Hampshire was a bit rocky. The Washington Post has a lengthy rundown on the difficult reception Phillips encountered the other night. His answers on the Israel-Gaza situation left the questioners unsatisfied. The Post says the Phillips campaign had a heavy camera presence, which suggests ad footage will result.
It’s the final weekend of campaigning for candidates for municipal and school board races and for backers of ballot measures. MPR’s Sarah Thamer looks into the St. Paul mayor’s push for a 1 percent sales tax increase to pay for schools and parks.
Yes, it’s that time again to adjust the clocks. Sunday is the end of daylight saving time. Although, if you’re a morning person (like me) you get daylight earlier so it maybe should be the start not the end. Anyway, be sure to change those smoke detector batteries and prepare for some hopefully temporary sleep disruptions. MPR’s Feven Gerezgiher checks in on that. | 