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. 

---