A judge has struck down the upcoming language on the Minneapolis ballot that would take the mayor's command over the police and instead have a panel of 14 people.
The court said in its statement that it found the language was "vague, ambiguous, and incapable of implementation, and is insufficient to identify the amendment clearly."
WCCO political analyst Blois Olson talked with News Talk 830 WCCO's Cory Hepola about what was going on and what could happen with the language being removed.
Olson shared that the amendment that activists were trying to get on the ballot would create a department of public safety and change the charter to no longer determine the minimum number of police officers. He went on to say that this was all being done to get a different way of policing in the city.
"The mayor vetoed this language twice, and then the city council overrode the mayor's veto, and then that was the language that ultimately was presented and some citizens sued on," Olson said.
A group of citizens sued the city over this language, and Olson shared that a judge ruled this morning, agreeing that it was unlawful.
"Indeed, it's too vague, it's too confusing, and it's not appropriate for the ballot this year," Olson said.
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Language on the upcoming ballot has been the main discussion point as of late because of its impact on the city.
"First and foremost, ballot language shapes the law," Olson said.
Ballot language is also crucial because it needs to be clear to voters to know what they are voting on. For example, Olson brought up the marriage rights language that voters voted on in Minnesota when deciding if same-sex marriage should be allowed.
In that case, it was clear, for this ballot Olson said it wasn't, especially with it being associated with different movements like "defund the police."
"You ask 12 people, you get 12 different visions, and ultimately it's that vision that they are trying to communicate in this ballot language," Olson said. "Because it's not something people can wrap their heads around, I think it's even more critically important that it's as accurate or as transparent as possible."
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With the judge striking down language, the ballot will change, and the Minneapolis City Council will be forced to go into an emergency meeting to try and come up with new language on policing.
"The language as it stands can't go on the ballot," Olson said.
Olson went on to say that there is a chance the city council is not able to come up with new language, in which case there could be no charter amendment on public safety on the ballot.
If this were the case, it could affect the upcoming election for Minneapolis Mayor and even the 2022 election, Olson said.
