Minnesota election officials are making changes to the state's automatic voter registration system ahead of Election Day after discovering about 1,000 potentially problematic registrations.
Officials said about 1% of the more than 90,000 Gopher State residents who were automatically registered or preregistered to vote since April when they obtained a driver's license or other state-issued ID have been warned of potential problems.
This group includes 16- and 17-year-olds who can pre-register once they turn 18. The automatic process does not require verification that those registering meet legal criteria.
The registration in question will remain “inactive” until the name, address and citizenship status are verified. Minnesota Public Radio reported.Additional checks will be carried out to ensure eligibility criteria are met in time for November's hotly contested presidential election.
“The Secretary of State's Office [Minnesota Driver and Vehicle Services] “It adds additional quality assurance to the process to catch and correct human error,” Secretary of State Steve Simon said.
“Going forward, DVS will use two different staff areas to double-check all documents within DVS before applicants are sent to register to vote,” the Democrats said.
Verification changes include informing flagged individuals that they must register to vote, if eligible, online, at their local elections office, or in person at their polling place on Election Day. According to reports.
Polls released this week show Vice President Kamala Harris leading former President Donald Trump by just over four points in Minnesota, the home state of her running mate, Governor Tim Walz.
Republican state lawmakers earlier this month raised questions about the automatic voter registration system, demanding to know the exact number of problematic registrants and whether they were able to vote in the August primary.
They also called on the state's public safety chief to provide additional answers about the vetting process.
“With 52 days until the election and early voting beginning on September 20th, Minnesotans want to trust that our elections will be secure and fair,” Republican leaders of the Minnesota General Assembly said in a statement.
Officials say they are not aware of anyone using the system to vote illegally.
Authorities said this week that an analysis of automatic voter registration through the Oregon DMV found that more than 300 foreign nationals had been registered to vote since 2021, a violation of U.S. federal law, and that at least two had voted in recent elections.
Minnesota issues driver's licenses to residents regardless of immigration status, but officials say they have sufficient safeguards against illegal voting as part of the process.
With post wire
