Reprint: Facts about Voting
this is from Minnesota Reformer newsletter, September 15
Kim Crockett, the Republican candidate for Minnesota secretary of state, has made a litany of erroneous statements about election administration during her campaign to be the state’s top election official.
We compiled a roundup of them today. Among them:
- She said the secretary of state counts the votes. That’s false. Counties and cities count votes.
- She said the secretary of state mailed her a ballot, but that’s impossible. Cities and counties mail ballots, not the secretary of state.
- She said military ballots were delivered to the secretary of state’s office. That’s false: They go back to the county that sent them.
- She said she wasn’t sure whether military ballots are counted by counties or the state. Ballots aren’t counted by the state.
- She has repeatedly said the state’s residency requirement for elections is 20 days in a precinct, which is false.
- She said postmarks are required on absentee ballot envelopes. That’s false.
- She said when the state was under Democratic control, absentee balloting was expanded from “a week or two” of early voting to 46 days. That’s false.
- She repeatedly claims Minnesota got rid of voter ID: Minnesota has never required identification to vote.
- She frequently complains about “the widespread use of drop boxes in DFL-strongholds” such as Minneapolis, which has never had unstaffed ballot drop boxes.
The story is part of a project called Democracy Day, in which newsrooms across the country are shining a light on threats to democracy.
