House Republicans from Minnesota have joined the Republican National Committee (RNC) in requesting an update from Democratic vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz's administration regarding voter roll cleanup efforts. This comes after the discovery that noncitizens and other ineligible individuals were improperly registered to vote under the state's automatic voter registration process.
The Republicans, including Reps. Tom Emmer, Brad Finstad, Michelle Fischbach, and Pete Stauber, signed onto a letter sent by RNC election integrity counsel Kevin J. Cline and Minnesota Republican Party Chairman David Hann. The letter was addressed to Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon and Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson.
The letter highlighted the delay in receiving information from Simon and Jacobson's offices, despite efforts to remove known noncitizens from the voter rolls over a month ago. It also demanded specific details on the inactivated individuals, including the number of individuals, missing information categories, voting history, and eligibility for the upcoming election.
The Republicans raised concerns about the integrity of Minnesota's election system and questioned how noncitizens were able to register to vote despite supposed safeguards in place. They emphasized the importance of transparency and trust in the state's election process.
In response, Simon's office acknowledged the need for additional confirmation of voter registration information and announced changes to internal processes. The office stated that DVS is implementing a two-layer review process to ensure only eligible individuals are registered to vote.
As a precautionary measure, the Secretary of State's office has inactivated the voter registrations of flagged individuals and will notify them to re-register if eligible. DVS is enhancing training for document classification staff and has paused automatic voter registration in certain situations to prevent future errors.
The ongoing dialogue between the Republicans and the Walz administration underscores the importance of maintaining the accuracy and integrity of voter rolls in Minnesota.
