North Hennepin News

The Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Oversight Policy Committee convened on Tuesday to address concerns about election fraud in the state. The session focused on a case from 2021-2022, where two individuals admitted guilt to federal charges after submitting between 500 and 600 fraudulent voter registration forms. These registrations were distributed across 13 counties.

Committee members questioned Secretary of State Steve Simon and his staff regarding the processing and detection of these fraudulent registrations. They also inquired if any fraudulent entries remain in the Statewide Voter Registration System (SVRS) and whether non-citizens could potentially vote using driver's licenses.

Chair Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, issued a statement following the hearing: “I am grateful that county elections staff caught and reported the fraudulent registrations and that our federal partners were able to secure guilty pleas in this conspiracy to commit election fraud. While the hearing answered some of our questions, including that the number of fraudulent registrations was between 500-600 and that those fake registrations were sent to 13 different counties, the Secretary of State did not provide the detail we need to be assured that all of these fraudulent registrations have been removed from our Statewide Voter Registration System (SVRS). I sent a follow-up letter to Secretary Simon this morning requesting the exact number of fraudulent registrations, the specific counties they were sent to, and the number of fraudulent registrations that remain in the system marked as ‘challenged.’ In addition, it is important to know why, when this first came to light, all of the voter registrations submitted by the non-profit these two worked for were not flagged and segregated. Two of this foundation’s independent contractors were caught, but we should have had a review of all of the voter registrations submitted by this group.”

Robbins further emphasized: “It is essential we start catching election fraud upstream to prevent illegal voter registration forms or absentee ballot requests from being processed so illegal votes cannot be cast. Since Minnesota doesn’t have provisional balloting for ‘challenged’ or same-day registration, once a vote is cast, it cannot be withdrawn.”

The committee continues its efforts to improve oversight and ensure election integrity within Minnesota.