Press Release 2-28-2012
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Minnesota Voters Alliance ● P.O. Box 4602 ● Saint Paul, MN 55104 www.mnvoters.org ● [email protected] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contacts: Andy Cilek 612-990-2533 [email protected] Erick Kaardal, Attorney 612-341-1074 [email protected] Minnesota Voters Alliance files federal lawsuit to protect voters’ rights in Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota, February 28, 2012—The Minnesota Voters Alliance (MVA) announced today it has filed a federal lawsuit asking the court to order the S tate of Minnesota to enforce the Minnesota Constitution’s voter eligibility requirements. The State currently allows persons who register to vote on election day to have their ballots counted prior to the state confirming their eligibility to vote. That failure of the State to do its constitutional duty to determine who is eligible to vote and who is not has resulted in thousands of unentitled persons vo ting in the 2008 and 2010 elections. The lawsuit asserts that und er the Minnesota Constitution, a person is not entitled to vote until his or her eligibility has been confirmed. For example, in the 2008 election for U.S. Senate in which Al Fr anken won by 312 votes, the State failed to confirm the eligibility of more than 500,000 voters until after their votes had been counted. When the State did get around to checking the eli gibility of those 500,000 voters, it could not, even as late as today, confirm the eligibility of more than 48,000 of them. Others, in particular Minnesota Majority, have done pioneering work in determining how many ineligible felons voted in the presidential-year election of 2008 and have identified at least 1,500 such illegal voters. Research shows significant problems with t he State’s ability to confirm that every voter actually lives in the precinct in which he or she votes. The lawsuit is not about taking away any one’s right to vote. It does not seek to prevent el ection day registration. It asks the court to prevent the state from waiving, on el ection day, the eligibility requirements emb odied in the Minnesota Constitution. Everyone who votes on
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Transcript of Press Release 2-28-2012
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Minnesota Voters Alliance ● P.O. Box 4602 ● Saint Paul, MN 55104 www.mnvoters.org ● [email protected]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Andy Cilek
612-990-2533
Erick Kaardal, Attorney612-341-1074
Minnesota Voters Alliance files federal lawsuit to protect voters’ rights in Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota, February 28, 2012—The Minnesota Voters Alliance (MVA) announced
today it has filed a federal lawsuit asking the court to order the State of Minnesota to enforce
the Minnesota Constitution’s voter eligibility requirements.
The State currently allows persons who register to vote on election day to have their ballots
counted prior to the state confirming their eligibility to vote. That failure of the State to do its
constitutional duty to determine who is eligible to vote and who is not has resulted in thousands
of unentitled persons voting in the 2008 and 2010 elections. The lawsuit asserts that under the
Minnesota Constitution, a person is not entitled to vote until his or her eligibility has been
confirmed.
For example, in the 2008 election for U.S. Senate in which Al Franken won by 312 votes, the
State failed to confirm the eligibility of more than 500,000 voters until after their votes had been
counted. When the State did get around to checking the eligibility of those 500,000 voters, it
could not, even as late as today, confirm the eligibility of more than 48,000 of them.
Others, in particular Minnesota Majority, have done pioneering work in determining how many
ineligible felons voted in the presidential-year election of 2008 and have identified at least 1,500such illegal voters. Research shows significant problems with the State’s ability to confirm that
every voter actually lives in the precinct in which he or she votes.
The lawsuit is not about taking away anyone’s right to vote. It does not seek to prevent election
day registration. It asks the court to prevent the state from waiving, on election day, the
eligibility requirements embodied in the Minnesota Constitution. Everyone who votes on
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election day should have his or her ballot counted, but only after their eligibility has been
confirmed.
The MVA notes that the State holds all of the information about each voter. The State knows
their name, the age of the person, their citizenship status, where they live, if they are a felon, if
they are under guardianship. They know their drivers license number or their state ID number.
The State has access to all of that information from its management of the Department of Public
Safety, from its court records, the Social Security Administration, and other sources.
Further, the State knows exactly when and where each person voted. Yet, it has made public no
attempt to review its performance to see if a problem exists.
The Minnesota Voters Alliance calls on the Office of the Secretary of State to be transparent
about the current state of ineligible voting in Minnesota. The Secretary should tell the people of
Minnesota precisely how much ineligible voting has occurred during and since 2008.
