Whether felons on supervised release can continue to vote is now in the hands of the Minnesota Supreme Court.

The court’s seven justices on Monday heard arguments in a challenge to a new state law that restored the vote to more than 55,000 felons on probation, parole and supervised release last year.

The change came after decades of advocacy at the Capitol and an unsuccessful lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota. It continues to face challenges nearly a year after it became law.

Lawmakers moved quickly last spring to restore voting rights after the Supreme Court ruled against the ACLU challenge and said the issue was up to the state Legislature. By June, people with felonies on supervised release were registering to vote.

Anoka County lawsuit

Then a conservative-aligned group called the Minnesota Voters Alliance filed a lawsuit in Anoka County to challenge the new law on constitutional grounds. A judge there dismissed their case in December, prompting the appeal to the state’s highest court.

Monday’s hearing centered around two main questions: the constitutionality of the law, and whether the Minnesota Voters Alliance had standing to intervene in the case.

James Dickey, an attorney with the Upper Midwest Legal Center, a conservative law firm representing the voters group in the case, argued the new law violated the state Constitution — which bars felons from voting until “restored to civil rights.”

Gaining the right to vote in itself is not a restoration of civil rights, Dickey argued, as the bill enacted last year does not explicitly mention other rights, such as running for office and serving on a jury.

Since the state’s Constitution says a person convicted of a felony or treasonous act can vote once their civil rights are restored, the Legislature merely restoring the right to vote through a law is not sufficient, since it is not rights in the plural, Dickey told the justices.

Questions from justices

Associate Justice Margaret H. Chutich pried at Dickey’s argument about rights in the plural, noting felons already have many rights restored upon release, and that there’s no constitutional restriction on felons from serving on juries — despite courts not allowing them to do so. She also noted probation itself was not around when Minnesota framed its Constitution in the 1800s.

The voters group also claimed it had standing to intervene because the Legislature appropriated money in the felon voting rights bill — an argument that failed to persuade an Anoka County judge in December.

Justices, including Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, also appeared skeptical of that taxpayer standing argument, saying the money is tangentially related to the felon voting rights law as it is there to help the Secretary of State educate the public on new voting rights and is not core to the bill.

State asks for ruling by June 28

In defending the felon voting law from the Minnesota Voters Alliance challenge, Minnesota Assistant Attorney General Nathan Hartshorn argued the Minnesota Voters Alliance hadn’t “even attempted” to allege they’d suffered “due to thousands of their neighbors being re-enfranchised.” He criticized the constitutional challenge as coming down to hinging on a single letter, “s”, distinguishing civil rights in the plural from the singular “civil right.”

He also said the lawsuit ultimately spreads “fear and uncertainty” about voting rights in newly enfranchised communities.

Hartshorn asked the Supreme Court to make a ruling in the case no later than June 28 as early voting begins the day after.

At a news conference following the hearing, ACLU and voting advocates echoed Hartshorn’s argument that the lawsuit is spreading confusion about voting rights.

Craig Coleman, an attorney who does pro bono work for the ACLU and represented clients in the group’s original challenge to the state’s felon voting rights ban, said he thinks the new law will remain in place.

“It’s just inconceivable that the same court is going to now … play a game of gotcha and tell the Legislature: ‘Oh, you didn’t do it quite right way,’ ” he said “We just see no chance of that. So we’re looking forward to a quick decision.”

Constitutional amendment

In an emailed statement, Minnesota Voters Alliance Executive Director Andy Cilek denied his group is attempting to generate confusion surrounding the law, and said they remain hopeful the court will strike down the law as unconstitutional.

“Then proponents can put a constitutional amendment on the ballot for the voters to decide,” he said. “Which is what they should have done in the beginning.”

Twenty-three states restore voting rights upon release from incarceration, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Maine, Vermont and Washington, D.C. allow incarcerated people to vote.

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By KIM TONG-HYUNG and HYUNG-JIN KIM

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Tuesday test-fired a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile toward waters off its eastern coast, South Korea’s military said, adding to a series of weapons demonstrations that have raised tensions in the region.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was launched from an area near the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, but it did not immediately confirm how far the weapon flew. The North had said last month that it tested a solid-fuel engine for its new-type intermediate-range hypersonic missile as it tries to expand its arsenal of weapons aimed at remote U.S. targets in the Pacific, including the military hub of Guam.

It was the North’s first known launch event since March 18, when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a live-fire drill of artillery systems designed to target South Korea’s capital.

Japan’s coast guard shared an assessment of the country’s Defense Ministry that the missile has already landed but still urged caution for vessels passing the area. Japanese broadcaster NHK said the missile likely didn’t reach the country’s exclusive economic zone.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have risen since 2022 as Kim used Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a distraction to accelerate his testing of missiles and other weapons. The United States and South Korea have responded by expanding their combined training and trilateral drills involving Japan and sharpening their deterrence strategies built around strategic U.S. assets.

There are concerns that North Korea could further dial up pressure in an election year in the United States and South Korea.

The weapons North Korea have tested this year include an intercontinental ballistic missile designed to target the U.S. mainland as well as cruise missiles and “super-large” multiple rocket launchers aimed at the Seoul capital area.

The latest launch came two days after North Korea reaffirmed its plans to launch several reconnaissance satellites this year in violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions. South Korea’s military said Monday there were no signs that a satellite launch is impending at the North’s main launch facility in the northwest.

Kim has described satellites as crucial for monitoring U.S. and South Korean military movements and enhancing the threat of his nuclear-capable missiles. Last November, North Korea put a military spy satellite into orbit for the first time, drawing condemnations from the U.S., South Korea, Japan and others, which view the launch as a cover for testing the North’s long-range missile technology. North Korea has argued it has the sovereign right to launch spy satellites.

— AP writer Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.

Anthony Edwards delivered a couple of brilliant attacks in the third quarter of the Timberwolves’ game against Chicago on Sunday in Minneapolis.

After he knifed his way to the basket for consecutive buckets, a familiar scene appeared to be playing out at Target Center — a third-quarter Edwards explosion.

A minute later, Edwards attacked immediately off the catch and again got right to the rim. And he missed. Two minutes after that, he found himself in a transition opportunity. Usually, in that spot, the 22-year-old guard is an unstoppable freight train. But in this instance, Edwards seemingly slow played it, wound up in slew of traffic and didn’t touch the rim, then slowly made his way back down the floor on defense.

On the next possession, Edwards had a prime look at a put-back attempt, and threw it off the heel of the rim. Edwards’ usual explosion was thwarted, and he missed his final three shots of the quarter in the 109-101 defeat.

Edwards is still playing high-level basketball, as he has all season. He has significantly raised his level of play in the absence of Karl-Anthony Towns. The offense is running almost entirely through him, and he’s handled it beautifully with top-tier decision-making.

Edwards is carrying that offensive load while also being asked, often, to take on difficult defensive matchups. And, entering Monday’s games, he was one of eight players in the NBA to log more than 2,500 minutes this season.

He’s doing this at 22-year-old in his fourth NBA season. To put that in perspective, at least four of the starters on North Carolina State’s current Final Four team are six or more months older than Edwards.

So it’s entirely possible that, at this point in the season, fatigue could be a factor for the young all-star.

Edwards was Superman for Minnesota in the team’s first seven games without the injured Towns, averaging 31.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. His blocked shot against Indiana and dunk over John Collins were both iconic. That was one of the more scintillating stretches of basketball in recent memory, and something few players can deliver.

But it’s possible that type of workload has caught up to him for the time being. Over the Timberwolves’ last five games, Edwards is averaging just 19 points per game, shooting 40 percent from the field and 23 percent from deep. He has missed his last 16 3-point attempts.

“Probably just one of those times. People go through it,’ Wolves coach Chris Finch said. “Jaden went through it a little while ago, Naz is kinda going through it a little bit at the same time.”

But this just doesn’t happen to Edwards, who lamented his 0-for-6 shooting performance from deep in Sunday’s defeat.

“It’s bad,” he said.

And every shot attempt, he said, “felt good.” The all-star guard said he thought beforehand that each one of those misses was going through the net. And yet each of them hit the front rim.

“So that just mean I ain’t got no legs,” Edwards said. “So I’ve got to figure that part out.”

To Edwards’ credit, he’s pressing through it in the best way he knows how. He grabbed 11 rebounds against Chicago. He had 13 boards against Cleveland 10 days ago. Even as his fuel tank lessens, his effort does not. And he’s still making the game easier for those around help, which has helped teammates such as McDaniels, Reid, Kyle Anderson and Mike Conley flourish. His presence on the court is invaluable for the Timberwolves as they chase the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and sport a stated goal to be playing as well as possible heading into the postseason.

But the team at its peak undoubtedly includes Edwards playing at the peak of his powers. Perhaps a a game or two off down the stretch would serve him well. The Timberwolves are staring at another series of back-to-back games the next two days, with a game Tuesday against Houston and one Wednesday against Toronto. The latter presents itself as a prime opportunity to potentially give the guard a well-deserved day off, should Finch choose to take that route.

Or maybe Edwards can simply play the life back into his legs. There is a week off between the end of the regular season and the playoffs to recharge the batteries. But even Superman could use the occasional day of rest.

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