Minnesota State Wire

The executive director of a Minnesota conservative 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation, the Freedom Club, criticized the state House’s advancement of an elections and campaign finance bill as “hyper partisan” legislation that plays into the hands of far-left politicians.

HF 9 proposes a series of changes to current laws governing voter registration, election administration, election security and campaign finance and disclosure law, all of which Freedom Club’s Alex Karam asserts lacked Republican co-sponsors.

“It will give full voting rights to people serving felony sentences, send taxpayer money to political campaigns and allow ballots to be counted even after Election Day is over," Karam told Minnesota State Wire.

Karam also said the legislation "is another attempt by far-left politicians" to push "unpopular measures that put voter integrity at risk."

"This legislation will do nothing to help facilitate free, fair, and secure elections. It will cause confusion and will deteriorate trust in our election system," Karam said. "Due to this legislation, Minnesota will likely not know the winner of an election until a week or more after the election is over. This legislation will force taxpayers to fund negative attack ads and will restore the rights of felons without going through the judicial system. This is a hyper-left-wing proposal that should be rejected right away. GOP ideas on voter security need to be included in any election reform proposals."

Election integrity and security have been fiercely debated topics in many state legislatures across the U.S. following one of the biggest, most controversial presidential elections to date. GOP lawmakers, including those in Minnesota, allege the 2020 contest was rife with widespread fraud, arguing that a remedy to the problem would be mandatory voter identification at the polls.

Despite these assertions, no evidence of widespread election fraud has surfaced, while election officials across the country, including the previous administration's election security chief, claim the 2020 election to be among the most fraud-free in history. This claim has been supported by the judicial system in every case to date.  

The National Conference of State Legislatures determined that Minnesota is among 16 states and the District of Columbia that do not require voters to present a form of government ID when casting ballots. The others are Maine, Oregon, California, Nevada, Wyoming, Vermont, Illinois, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina and Maryland.

“Proponents see increasing requirements for identification as a way to prevent in-person voter impersonation and increase public confidence in the election process,” NCSL researchers wrote. “Opponents say there is little fraud of this kind, and the burden on voters unduly restricts the right to vote and imposes unnecessary costs and administrative burdens on elections administrators.”

A March 2021 survey by pollster Rasmussen Reports found that 75% of likely U.S. voters believe voters should be required to show photo identification such as a driver’s license before being allowed to vote, and 21% are opposed to such a requirement. That's up from 67% in favor, per an October 2018 Rasmussen poll.

In October 2020, Amber McReynolds of the National Vote at Home Institute told the New York Times that signature matching, done right "is the best way to strike a balance between security, transparency, and accessibility for voters."