Highlighting new changes to Minnesota’s voting laws, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon spoke on Thursday, November 16th, to more than 50 people gathered in the American Indian Resource Center at Bemidji State University.
“We need your help,” he said, addressing more than two dozen high school students, nonprofit leaders, and election administrators. “I know that a lot of people in this room, whether you’re at BSU, whether you’re in the nonprofit community, whether you’re in the for-profit community, whether your students – we want to spread the word about these new tools, so that people understand them. Hopefully they’ll make use of them, but that’s going to take more work.”
Simon’s appearance was co-hosted by Northwest Minnesota Foundation, the League of Women Voters of Minnesota, and the American Indian Resource Center.
The purpose of the event was to raise awareness of changes to the state’s voting laws.
Simon, in this third term as Secretary of State, said that the changes will expand on Minnesota’s voting laws by increasing vote.
“You may know this but it bears repeating … Minnesotans are really good at voting,” he said. Three of the last four elections, we – Minnesota – were number one in America of states in voting.”
He explained the changes to the state’s voting system, which include restoring the right to vote to convicted felons released from prison, automatic voter registration for those applying for a Minnesota driver’s license or state identification, pre-registration for 16- and 16-year-olds, election worker protections, and control of disinformation.
“Minnesota has been in a good spot when it comes to voter turnout, because we do balance that (voter) access (with) security,” he said.
At one point, Simon addressed criticism that his office has received for providing election and voting information in other languages, stating that the state has done so since 1896. Taking out photocopies of materials that were once distributed in Norwegian or Swedish, Simon said he was proud of his efforts in expanding the number of translations available for those who want more details on voting rights and processes.
“What we’re doing now is nothing different than what we’ve been doing for over 120 years,” he said. “It won’t shock you to know that we translate nothing into Swedish anymore, nothing … but Spanish, Vietnamese, and Hmong and Somali, yes. Because that reflects the languages people are speaking.”
For more information…
- To learn more voting in Minnesota, including important dates, the races on your ballot, and details on candidates, visit https://www.vote411.org/minnesota (Note: This site is hosted by the League of Women Voters Education Fund, a nonpartisan, political grassroots network.)
- The Minnesota Secretary of State website at https://www.sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting/ also provides information on important dates and the races on your ballot, as well as details on the recent voting law changes.
- Visit https://www.lwvmn.org/ for information about the League of Women Voters of Minnesota.
