Election Info You Might Not Know
Do you know election laws? Do you understand the process? How to be an election judge? How many Americans are not registered to vote? Have you seen some of the latest news on our elections?
Set expectations
Elections should be -Observable, Transparent, and Auditable.
We should work hard to maintain party balance in all polling locations (that means citizens need to work the polls as trained election judges).
We should follow the laws allowing observation (we need poll watchers/ challengers), city and county officials should do their best to be transparent and follow all state laws.
And most importantly, chain of custody should be rigorously maintained so that the outcomes can be audited in order to demonstrate the quality of our elections. Election judges and poll challengers ensure the security of our ballots.
Above all- make sure you are registered and are exercising your right to vote, your vote is additive and essential to understanding the will of the people. #ValueTheVote
Election essentials- Voter eligibility, election judges, and precincts.
Be a voter
To vote you must be:
- A U.S. citizen
- At least 18 years old on Election Day (16 & 17 year olds can pre-register)
- A resident of Minnesota for 20 days
- Not currently incarcerated for a felony conviction
- Not under a court order that revokes your right to vote
Elections Dictionary- Words you should know.
A good resource with candidate information is Ballotpedia. They even have a sample ballot look up with candidates listed in a drop down.
Become an Election Judge
You must be eligible to vote in Minnesota and able to read, write and speak English. Students 16 and 17 years-old can be election judge trainees.
There are restrictions on having relatives serve together as election judges. A relative is defined as a spouse, parent, stepparent, child, stepchild, sibling, or stepsibling.
Relatives cannot serve together in the same precinct at the same time. In addition, relatives of a candidate, and anyone who temporarily or permanently lives in the same house as a candidate, cannot serve in the precinct where the candidate is on the ballot.
Candidates cannot serve in a precinct where they are on the ballot.
Be informed
Follow issues, city council activities and school board meetings. Observe how your elected officials and boards operate. Ask questions and understand what spending decisions they are making. Are your elected officials making good decisions? When people provide public input are they listened to?
Voting- Are you Registered? And do you exercise that right?
Minnesota's non-voters
October 3, 2020
In 2016, the median age of a registered eligible voter was 51, while the median age of an unregistered eligible voter was 36.
Only 80% of eligible voters under 35 reported being registered, compared to 94% of those over 65.
Why Are Millions of Citizens Not Registered to Vote?
The nonvoters and the unregistered have limited confidence in their ability to affect their communities, the fact that they are less likely to engage in civic and volunteer activities than groups who vote more frequently is not surprising.
The unregistered differ in many ways from those who vote frequently: They are less interested in politics, less engaged in civic activities, and more cynical about their ability to understand and influence government, but they are not appreciably different on these measures from individuals who are registered but rarely vote.
Unregistered, likely GOP voters in Wisconsin, Michigan want to participate in November
There is good news, nearly two-thirds of the unregistered, likely Republican voters in Wisconsin and Michigan, want to get registered in time to vote in November.
A new survey from Campaign Now says there is a huge number of untapped, and unregistered voters who lean toward the right and 25% of them want help in getting registered.
Connors said most of the unregistered likely Republicans have been too busy with work and their families, while a sizable chunk simply do trust their local election officials
More than 10 Million Gun Owners and Hunters are not registered to vote in America.
More than 10 million hunters and gun owners are not registered to vote in America, according to a new grassroots voter-registration group firing warning shots at the GOP. https://nypost.com/2024/07/09/...
Vote4America data show that if Republicans don’t address political apathy among their gun-owning base in key swing states, they’ll have far fewer voters in their arsenal to score victories this November.
The low-propensity Christian voter
The problem, the "real problem" of millions of Evangelical voters failing to vote in elections. The estimate is that between 40 million and 45 million Evangelicals do not vote.
Evangelicals are passive voters – they typically vote for the right causes and candidates … when they show up at the polls.
Looking for the 'don't vote' and unregistered Evangelicals
"It's the largest single constituency in the electorate. It's bigger than the Hispanic vote, the African American vote, and the union vote combined,".
"We estimate among evangelical Christians alone, it's about 17 million [that don't go to the polls] – about half of whom are not registered, and about half of whom are registered but don't vote,"
Election News- key current stories.
A matter of trust Minnesota election laws need you!
The Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon has a problem. Too many Minnesotans don’t trust the election system he manages.
According to the latest Thinking Minnesota Poll, nearly one in four Minnesotans (23 percent) are not confident in the integrity of elections in our state.
Republicans are driving the lack of confidence in elections: 45 percent lack confidence in the integrity of state elections; 56 percent lack confidence in national elections. In a state that historically has taken pride in high voter participation, shouldn’t we always strive to raise the bar — especially if shoring up voter confidence is the foundation for it?
Minnesotans’ plans for voting and thoughts on election security
Detailed findings from the September 2024 Minnesota Poll
In partnership with Minnesota Public Radio News, the APM Research Lab analyzed the results of a statewide poll of likely voters in Minnesota. The “Minnesota Poll” was conducted Sept. 16-18, 2024 by Mason Dixon Polling and Strategy, on behalf of MPR News, the Minnesota Star Tribune and KARE11.
They found 74% of Minnesotans who are likely to vote in November plan to do so in person on Election Day. Thirteen percent of likely voters plan to vote by mail-in absentee ballot, and 11% intend to drop off their ballot before Election Day. Two percent of likely voters are unsure how they will cast their ballot in the upcoming Presidential Election.
Click here for additional background on the poll’s methodology.
"Tim Walz signed into law driver's licenses for illegal immigrants in Minnesota."
- Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill that lets people in the state, regardless of immigration status, apply for a license or an ID card.
- To get a license, people must meet certain requirements, including showing proof that they live in Minnesota, documentation proving their identity and passing a written test on the rules of the road and a driving skills test.
On March 7, 2023, as Minnesota governor, Walz signed H.F. 4, a bill that expanded access to driver’s licenses to people in the state, regardless of their immigration status. State House and Senate Democrats broadly supported the measure, and only one House Republican supported it.
This law reversed a 2003 order by former Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty that barred the state from issuing licenses to people who were in the country illegally.
Simon accused of misleading local governments on absentee ballot boards
More than one in four Minnesotans voting in the 2022 election cast an absentee ballot.
Counties, cities and other entities must balance the make-up of absentee ballot boards by including election judges from both political parties to ensure impartiality.
Local governments may also supplement election judges on absentee ballot boards by appointing staff and other individuals to be temporary deputy clerks or deputy county auditors as needed–up to a point.
WHEREAS, the Absentee Ballot Board must consist of a sufficient number of election judges appointed as provided in sections 204B.19 to 204B.22; and
WHEREAS, the Absentee Ballot Board may include deputy county auditors trained in the processing and counting of absentee ballots;
RNC Sues Michigan Secretary Of State Over ‘Inflated’ Voter Rolls
The RNC lawsuit says that Michigan’s mismanagement undermines election integrity and allows ineligible voters to cast ballots.
“Election integrity starts with clean voter rolls, and that’s why the National Voter Registration Act requires state officials to keep their rolls accurate and up-to-date,” new RNC Chairman Michael Whatley said.
Under Whatley’s leadership, the RNC hired two new election-focused lawyers
RNC Files Election-Related Lawsuits
Former Minnesota mayor speaks out about ‘broken’ elections, voting
Three red flags, the removal of hand counting, lack of cast vote records, and electronic poll books.
Concerns about election statistics, voter registrations, and more. Public hand counting is simple, easy, and cost-effective.
The equipment needs updated, there needs checks and balances, transparency is required.
We are election verifiers.
Concerned and committed north metro citizens have met every week for nearly two years as part of a group they call ACEIT, the Anoka.
More information and breaking news can be found at the Minnesota Voters Alliance.
