Minnesota Presidential Primary
The year, Minnesota’s presidential nomination process has some significant changes, the biggest being that voters will have the ability to participate in a primary, separate from party caucuses. Minnesota’s Presidential Primary will take place on March 3, also known as Super Tuesday, when multiple states will also be voting for presidential nominees. Early absentee voting begins tomorrow, January 17th. You can order an absentee ballot or update your voter registration here.
Through this process, voters will first choose which major party’s candidates to vote for (you can only vote in a single party’s presidential primary), and then choose one candidate within that party. This primary is only for presidential candidates, with primaries for other state offices being held in August.
Precinct caucuses will still take place, separate from the presidential primary, on February 25. These caucuses will be used to conduct party business, such as selecting delegates and establishing policy platforms.
If you have any questions about Minnesota’s presidential primary, or voting in general, I highly encourage you to contact the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State at mnvotes.org or 1-877-600-VOTE to make sure your voice is heard.
Governor’s Bonding Proposal
Governor Walz recently released his complete list of recommended projects for capital investment, which will serve as a start to the conversation we’ll be having this year as we draft and debate the 2020 Bonding Bill. I’m thankful Governor Walz included $2.5 million for Northfield’s regional transit hub in his proposal. The transit hub will expand transit options for area workers, residents, and students traveling to and from our community. This investment will benefit Northfield and our entire region.
The Climate Action Caucus
My colleagues and I in the House Climate Action Caucus have been holding informational hearings on the impacts of climate change in various policy areas, including our recent meeting that focused on Minnesota’s environment. These meetings are built around spreading awareness and building a coalition for the legislation we’ll be championing this year to address climate change, including a bill of mine, HF 1299. This legislation would set a state goal of planting one million additional trees per year for the next four years, while providing funding and statutory change to help the Department of Natural Resources meet this goal.
To stay up to date on our work with the Climate Action Caucus, you can sign up for updates here. Stay tuned for our next meeting, where we’ll be discussing the impacts of climate change on Minnesota’s agricultural industry, and the legislative tools we can use to address this issue.
Religious Freedom Day
I joined Senator John Marty in introducing a joint resolution to recognize today, January 16, as “Religious Freedom Day” in Minnesota. This resolution points back to January 16 of 1786, when the Virginia General Assembly passed the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom, a seminal document and a model that led to the guarantee of religious freedom in the first amendment to the constitution.
Religious pluralism is one of our strengths as a country, and we need to stay rooted in this core value. We live in a time when Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism are on the rise, and this is contrary to the vision of Jefferson and Madison. They wanted people to be free to follow their conscience on matters of faith, whether they practiced Christianity, another of the world's religions, or chose to profess no faith at all. No matter how we pray, or don't, we should be free to live our lives. That's the promise.
You can read the text of the resolution, which will be formally introduced when session reconvenes in February, here.
Stay In Touch!
Regardless of whether you’re able to attend our upcoming Town Hall Tour, I want to hear from you, especially as I spend the remaining weeks of the legislative interim preparing for the start of the 2020 Session on February 11. As always, you can reach me at (651) 296-0171, or rep.todd.lippert@house.mn. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Todd Lippert
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