Landlords Claim Twin Cities’ Voter Law Violates Their - Free Speech Posted: Feb 16th, 2019 - 3:48 pm
ST. PAUL, Minn. (CN) — Under the threat of criminal prosecution, landlords say they are forced to be the carriers of the government’s “ideological” message in violation of their protected free speech.
A group of landlords say they will be criminally prosecuted if they do not comply with city policies by providing information to their tenants on where and how to register to vote.
Minnesota Voters Alliance sued the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis in federal court on Wednesday. They claimed city codes requiring them to provide voter registration information to their tenants violate their First Amendment right to free speech.
They also alleged that this requirement forces them to carry the government’s “ideological message” to their prospective tenants or tenants, according to the lawsuit.
Minnesota Voters Alliance also supported the voter photo ID amendment proposal that was defeated in 2012 by voters. The nonprofit group, however, won a U.S. Supreme Court case this last summer striking down Minnesota’s vague ban of wearing political apparel in polling places.
R & J Real Estate, Well Maintained Apartments, Garfield Court Partnership, along with landlords Marissa Skaja and Charles Halverson—both members of the Minnesota Voters Alliance—are also named plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
According to the complaint, St. Paul and Minneapolis both enforce city codes that require landlords to, at the time of signing a lease, provide information to all tenants over the age of 18 of their right to vote and how to register to vote.
If a landlord fails to provide this information to a tenant, he or she will be subject to criminal prosecution. In St. Paul, the landlord can be charged with a petty misdemeanor and in Minneapolis a landlord can be subject to condemnation, written violation orders, warnings or criminal charges.....
LINK/URL: Landlords Claim Twin Cities’ Voter Law Violates Their
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