ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota's chief elections officer called on state lawmakers Monday to make it easier for residents to vote while protecting elections officials from threats and intimidation.
Key elements of Secretary of State Steve Simon's agenda are included in an elections package that fellow Democrats in the state House and Senate introduced last week. Others will be covered in separate legislation.
As legislatures convene across the country, lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle are bracing for new fights on election-related legislation amid the continued false claims by former President Donald Trump and his allies that the 2020 election was stolen. Republicans are eager to tighten election rules further, whereas Democrats are seeking to make it easier to vote.
Simon — who won more votes than any other candidate on Minnesota's statewide ballot as he fought off a GOP challenger who claimed the 2020 election was rigged — said Minnesota consistently has one of the highest turnouts in the country by promoting voter access while balancing it with security measures that keep fraud at “microscopic” levels.
“Minnesotans agree: Democracy was on the ballot in 2022,” Simon said at a news conference. "The voters of Minnesota had a chance to make their voices heard on elections and voting issues. They spoke loudly and clearly.”
Democrats are moving quickly to take advantage of their new majorities in both chambers of the Minnesota Legislature to pass priorities...
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