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State Representative Ryan Winkler
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-7026
For more information contact: Michael Howard 651-296-8873
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REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS UNDERMINE TRUST IN MINNESOTA'S ELECTION SYSTEM WITH LAWSUIT STUNT
ST. PAUL, MN - State Representative Ryan Winkler (DFL - Golden Valley) called out several Republican lawmakers for playing “press conference politics" in their frivolous lawsuit filed against the Secretary of State over Minnesota’s election process and voter registration system. Rep. Tom Emmer, Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer, and Rep. Mark Buesgens joined Minnesota Majority at a press conference to criticize the voter registration system. Those same Republicans blocked election reforms during the legislative session that would have addressed the concerns they raised at the press conference. Winkler, who authored the election reform bill, said the fact they would oppose meaningful reform during legislative session, then sue the secretary of state for making those same changes, proves they're sacrificing the integrity of the election system for their own political advantage.
Rep. Winkler released the following statement.
“Each of the Republican legislators who stood at a podium yesterday to blast Minnesota’s election laws stood on the House floor not one month ago and voted against the election reforms requested by local cities and counties that would have addressed their supposed concerns. This is hypocritical, press conference politics for which the only purpose is to help a few legislators call attention to themselves. Their artificial outrage shouldn't be fooling anyone.
Every effort was made during the session to pass a bipartisan election reform bill with non-controversial, common sense reforms to make our good election process better. Those reforms would have strengthened voter registration systems, made it easier to accurately and efficiently count absentee ballots, and improve Minnesota's election law in light of the U.S. Senate race. At every pass during the session, Republican legislators tried to block these common sense reforms in order to use our election system as a political weapon for their own use."
Every Republican in the House opposed the election reform bill on its final passage. Governor Pawlenty vetoed the bill due to its “lack of bipartisan support.” Specifically, the bill includes the following reforms:
• Centralizes Absentee Vote Count - Takes the authority to count absentee votes away from individual precincts - putting that discretion into the hands of county election officials. This would ensure a more accurate, uniform system for counting, accepting, or rejecting absentee ballots in Minnesota elections.
• Absentee Voter Identification- Requires that absentee ballot applications and return envelopes request the voters’ date of birth, last four SSN digits, and driver’s license/ID card number (only date of birth is currently required). This process would replace the current more subjective practice of comparing signatures and automatically, without notice, rejecting ballots that do not match the application.
• Voter Registration System- Requires that local elections officials input returned absentee ballot application data and returned absentee ballots into the statewide voter registration system. The bill requires these officials be trained and granted access to the system.
• Notifies Rejected Absentee Voters- The absentee ballot board must send notice and a replacement ballot to any absentee voter whose ballot is rejected at least five days before the election. The board must attempt to contact absentee voters by phone or email if their absentee ballot is rejected five days or less before the election. Currently, absentee voters whose ballots are rejected are not contacted.
• Enhances Oversight of Rejected Absentee Ballots- All absentee ballot board decisions to reject an absentee ballot are subject to canvassing board review. If the canvassing board agrees to count a previously rejected ballot, the ballot is counted.
• Prevents Voting Twice- Requires that local elections officials mark rosters and update reports for all precincts regarding which voters have cast an absentee ballot. Absentee voters cannot cast subsequent, overriding, absentee or regular ballots. The bill requires voting place rosters clearly indicate that voters cannot vote twice.
• Includes Absentee Votes in Precinct Totals- For state elections, absentee ballots must be included in precinct totals. For other elections, absentee ballot totals can be counted separately.
For further contact, Rep. Winkler can be reached at (612) 991-4498.
News Items
- Statement on Budget Forecast - (Posted: 2012-12-05 00:00:00)
- Statement on Final I-35 W Bridge Settlement - (Posted: 2012-11-13 00:00:00)
- Rep. Winkler: Tea Party Activists Can’t Be Trusted to Reform Our Elections - (Posted: 2012-11-01 00:00:00)
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