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Hearing Set For Next Week On Minneapolis Police Ballot Question

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A judge has scheduled hearing for Monday on an effort to keep a charter amendment on the future of policing off the ballot in Minneapolis.

Attorneys for former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels and others filed the motion late Wednesday, saying the council failed when it approved new ballot language Tuesday to solve the problems that led Hennepin County Judge Jamie Anderson to order the measure stricken from the ballot earlier in the day.

They said it remains unclear precisely what the amendment will do and how the changes could be implemented within 30 days of the election.

The court calendar posted Friday shows that Anderson has scheduled a hearing for 9 a.m. Monday.

City attorneys urged the court to reject the motion, calling it a "political effort" to prevent voters from deciding. They said the new language is almost identical to what Samuels' attorneys requested.

It wasn't immediately clear if it was still possible to change the ballots. A county statement after the council's vote Tuesday said any additional changes "may jeopardize the ballot production schedule and the timely opening of absentee voting."

County Elections Manager Ginny Gelms warned in a sworn court filing last week that 5 p.m. Tuesday was the printer's deadline for changing the ballots. Early in-person voting begins next Friday, and the county and city are required by law to distribute absentee ballots by next Friday to people who've requested them. She warned that delays would risk disenfranchising overseas voters, including members of the military.

(© Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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