ST. PAUL, MN – Today, Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie announced plans to give Minnesotans the option of registering online, and to give overseas and military personnel the option of applying for an absentee ballot online.
House Elections Committee Chair Rep. Steve Simon (DFL – Hopkins) released the following statement reacting to today’s announcement.
“I strongly support providing eligible Minnesotans with the option to register and apply for an absentee ballot online. We particularly need to go the extra mile for our military families.
I applaud Secretary Ritchie for giving these reforms the attention they deserve. He has highlighted the need to make voting easier while protecting voter integrity.
I want to build on the important discussion that Secretary Ritchie has launched, and to make sure that these reforms are long-lasting. To that end, I plan to introduce a bill in the 2014 legislative session with Senate Elections Committee Chair Katie Sieben that would put online absentee ballot applications for military and overseas voters and online voter registration into state law as permanent options for eligible Minnesota voters.”