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Crime, Law and Justice
Jon Collins

Citizen police oversight petition falls short of required number of valid Minneapolis signatures 

A person speaks at a press conference
Toshira Garraway Allen of Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence speaks at a press conference in downtown Minneapolis on May 1.
Jon Collins | MPR News

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Supporters of a ballot question that would have created a new civilian police oversight authority in Minneapolis did not collect enough valid signatures, according to an analysis by the city clerk’s office.

A coalition of activist groups turned in almost 13,000 signatures into the city last week to create a new civilian police oversight group. The new Civilian Police Accountability Commission would be elected to control the Minneapolis Police Department’s budget, appoint the chief and discipline officers. 

Minneapolis City Clerk Casey Carl told members of the Minneapolis City Council Thursday that the group didn't collect enough valid signatures to meet the requirements to become a ballot question. 

An analysis by the clerk’s office found that only about 5,500 of the signatures turned in by the group were valid, which is about 3,500 signatures short of the required threshold. Most of the excluded signatures represented people who couldn’t be found in the city’s voting rolls and people whose address didn’t match their names. 

The coalition Minneapolis for Community Control of Police has been collecting signatures since 2020, and said they’re outraged that so many signatures were excluded by the clerk’s office. They said they’re trying to collect the required signatures within ten days allowed by state statute but are also exploring legal options. 

“No more do-nothing commissions that are set up to fail, leaving the mayor of Minneapolis still in charge of his murderous squad,” organizer Jae Yates said in a statement. “We need accountability, both for the past and going forward.”

Activists have criticized the current Community Commission on Police Oversight, which was established last year, saying a backlog of uninvestigated police misconduct complaints shows that it’s been ineffective.  

Under the proposal, the commission’s members would be required to have at least two years experience in “protecting civil or human rights or be a survivor of police misconduct, or a family member of an individual killed at the hands of law enforcement.” Candidates related to police officers would not be eligible to run.

If the group does collect enough valid signatures within ten days, the ballot question will be sent to the city attorney’s office for legal analysis to ensure it’s in compliance with state law, including a provision that outlines the powers that civilian oversight commissions have over police in the state.

If the city attorney’s office doesn’t find a conflict, the council would then be required to craft the ballot question’s final language by July 9, according to Carl. If approved by voters, the charter amendment would go into effect 30 days after the vote.