Following the discovery of approximately 1,000 potentially problematic entries in Minnesota’s automatic voter registration system, election officials are taking measures to rectify the issue before Election Day. Around 1% of the more than 90,000 residents who have been automatically registered or pre-registered to vote since April were flagged for potential issues. The problematic registrations will remain inactive until further confirmation of names, addresses, and citizenship status is provided. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon stated that additional quality assurance measures are being implemented to ensure accuracy moving forward. This change includes notifying flagged individuals that they may need to register to vote online, at their local election office, or in-person at their polling place on Election Day if eligible. Republican state lawmakers have raised questions about the automatic voter registration system, but officials maintain that no one has been found to have illegally voted through the system.
The changes in the automatic voter registration process come after an analysis of automatic registrations through the DMV in Oregon revealed more than 300 non-citizens had been registered to vote since 2021, which violates federal law in the US. At least two of these non-citizens had cast ballots in recent elections. However, Minnesota grants driver’s licenses to residents regardless of immigration status, and officials have claimed that there are sufficient safeguards against illegal voting as part of the automatic voter registration process.
Vice President Kamala Harris currently leads former President Donald Trump by just over 4 points in Minnesota, according to recent polling data. Republican state lawmakers have demanded more information about the system and its screening processes, expressing concerns that the election is only 52 days away, and early voting begins on September 20th. Officials maintain that they are not aware of anyone having illegally voted through the system.
