Deceptive Claims of Fraud
Voter ID Laws Discourage Voting
A recent study by the General Accounting Office revealed that turnout was at least 1.9 percent lower in 2012 in Kansas vs 2008 and 2.2 percentage point lower in Tennesee as a result of implemented Voter ID laws. That means 34,000 Kansans and 88,000 Tennesseans likely would have voted if the new laws weren't in place. Young people, black people, and newly registered people were the groups that saw the biggest drop in turnout.
The Lie of Voter Fraud Hits Minnesota, Joanne Boyer
Joanne Boyer writes that "there are few issues that tear at the basic fabric of democracy as much as the current assault by Republican-controlled state houses to enact voter photo ID laws." She notes that the Republican Party could find no evidence of fraud in any state, and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigned over the scandel surrounding the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys because they refused to prosecute non existent voter fraud. No fraud was found in the two recent recounts for the Governor and Senate races.
In fact there have been no studies comparing all states on voter fraud. A study of voter fraud over ten years in twelve states with half of the electorate, including Minnesota, concluded that "Voter fraud appears to be very rare in the twelve states examined. . . More permissive absentee balloting rules, all mail-in voting in Oregon, and the enactment of Election Day Registration in several more states—have not facilitated voter fraud."
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman - 2008 Election - 99.99% Accurate
Hennepin County is the largest county in Minnesota. It accounts for 40% of all fraud cases in MN. The number of voter fraud convictions in 2008 was 38. That's .0057% or less than one in ten thousand votes cast, making Hennepin County's votes over 99.99% accurate. All the 38 were cases in which felons voted before their right to vote had been restored. The Hennepin County Attorney's Office worked with other state and county agencies to reduce illegal felon voting. Before the 2010 election, felons who were out of prison but still on probation were sent letters telling them they could not vote. The result: the number of felons charged with voting illegally dropped from 38 to 11 in Hennepin County. This is a far cry from the claim of widespread fraud frequently made by Minnesota Majority. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman stated that Minnesota Majority's claim "is false and they know it." Read the Statement of the Hennepin County Attorney's Office.
In June 2012, Think Again MN launched a history series that examines politics and policy-making in Minnesota during the last century from the immediate post World War II years up through the 1990s. That era witnessed fierce legislative battles at the State Capitol but it was also a time of shared values that cut across partisan lines.
MN's Leading Election System
MN's Leading Election System
With Secretary of State Steve Simon
Listen to Secretary of State Steve Simon's excellent presentation on MN's outstanding election system emulated by many other states at the Think Again Brooklyns forum January 19, 2016. Secretary Simon includes ways in which it can be improved, and he explains why it is important to vote. He concludes with a quote from a tee shirt: "Failure to vote is not an act of rebellion. It is an act of surrender."
Get details on how to vote at http://mnvotes.org
Oregon's Automatic Voter Registration
How Oregon Became the Easiest Place to Vote in the US
By Lornet Turnbull
YES! Magazine
October 8, 2016
In January, Oregon became the first state in the country to begin automatically registering eligible citizens to vote when they obtain or renew their driver's licenses or state IDs, completely shifting the burden of voter registration from the individual to the government.