Minnesota lawmakers are raising concerns about the reliability of voter roll data in the state’s largest county, leading to a heated debate over election record access. State Rep. Pam Altendorf questioned, “Why is there this effort to prevent us and election integrity organizations from seeing this information?”
She added, “If everything is in order, that’s fantastic. But if it’s not, then Secretary of State Steve Simon must seek federal assistance as this could disenfranchise every legitimate voter in Minnesota.” Altendorf’s frustrations began as she sought to obtain accurate voter roll data from various counties. After looking into state law and consulting with election integrity groups, she submitted requests to four counties, asserting her authority as vice chair of the Minnesota House Elections Committee.
Altendorf mentioned that the Secretary of State advised counties against releasing the requested information. While three counties did not respond, Hennepin County—the most populous in the state—did provide some data. However, upon examining Hennepin County records, Altendorf found approximately 3,000 valid voter registrations lacking critical identifying details such as date of birth, name, and address. She noted the presence of what appeared to be duplicate entries and remarked on instances where voters were listed as over 100 years old, although she didn’t specify any cases.
Interestingly, according to reports, many voters who registered prior to 1983 were not required to provide their date of birth; hence, 1900 was often recorded as a placeholder.
A spokesperson for Hennepin County stated that the county conducts elections following state law and directives from the Secretary of State, mentioning that address verification often leads to challenges in voter records, especially when confirmation postcards are returned as undeliverable.
Altendorf began paying close attention to voter roll data after learning that the Justice Department was requesting roll information nationwide as part of a larger election integrity initiative. However, Minnesota declined to share this data due to privacy issues. After reviewing the law and collaborating with election integrity advocates like the Minnesota Voters Alliance, Altendorf felt empowered to make her own data requests.
She alleged that Simon is attempting to obstruct her authority to confirm the accuracy of voter information. The Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office has yet to respond to inquiries for comments.
