Democrats sue to overturn ban

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Two national Democratic groups are suing to overturn Minnesota’s limits on assisting voters.

Minnesota law prevents an individual from helping more than three registered voters fill out a ballot or submit an absentee ballot. The groups challenging the law argue those limits are unconstitutional and especially discriminate against older voters, non-English speakers and people with disabilities, the Star Tribune reported Thursday.

The lawsuit was filed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the political arms, respectively, of U.S. House and Senate Democrats.

The groups contend that Minnesota’s law contradicts federal law requiring that “any voter who requires assistance to vote by reason of blindness, disability, or inability to read or write may be given assistance by a person of the voter’s choice.”

The groups also note that Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon has urged the Legislature to repeal the limits.

Last year, a bill sponsored by state Rep. Samantha Vang, a St. Paul Democrat, to lift the ban on voter assistance cleared the Minnesota House but stalled in the state Senate.

National Democratic groups have been challenging state laws around the country that put limits on voting.

Argument on train turns deadly

BLOOMINGTON (AP) — A man riding on a light rail train in a Minneapolis suburb fatally stabbed a fellow passenger early Thursday following an argument, transit officials said.

The argument between two men turned into a physical fight after the northbound Blue Line train left the Mall of America station in Bloomington about 1 a.m., a Metro Transit official said.

One of the men pulled out a knife and stabbed the other, according to Metro Transit spokesman Howie Padilla. Police arrested the assailant without incident when the train stopped at another station, he said.

The victim, who has not been identified, was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, where he died.

Security cameras and witnesses on the train were helping investigators piece together what happened, Padilla said.

“They feel that sooner, rather than later, they’ll pull together a case for the Hennepin County attorney,” he said.