Minnesota judge rejects ballot language for policing measure

MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota judge on Tuesday rejected verbiage used in a ballot proposal that would clear the way for city officials to replace the Minneapolis Police Department, according to a report.

The current language “is insufficient to identify the amendment clearly, it does not assist the voter in easily and accurately identifying what is being voted on, and it is vague and ambiguous to the point of misleading voters, all of which make it unjust,” wrote Hennepin County Judge Jamie Anderson, the Star Tribune reported.

This is the second time in the past month that Anderson has struck down the ballot language for this measure.

As Minneapolis officials scramble to create new wording for council approval, Terrance W. Moore, an attorney for Yes 4 Minneapolis, which wrote the proposal, said they “are considering appealing the order, which would happen no later than Wednesday.”

Hennepin County officials, who coordinate ballot printing for Minneapolis, previously said in court that if the judge rejected the language, they needed to get new wording to the printer no later than 5 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Star Tribune. As a result, they need updated phrasing by about noon Tuesday to meet that deadline.

In July, Judge Anderson ordered Minneapolis to hire more police officers after ruling in favor of a group that sued the City Council over a rise in crime in Minnesota’s largest city, Law Officer reported.

To be in compliance with the order, the reluctant city government must employ 730 sworn police officers by June 30 of next year.

It is unclear how the current ballot proposal would impact the lawsuit.