STILLWATER, Minn. (Minnesota Reformer) — Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon watched local election officials test a voting machine at a public event in Stillwater on Wednesday to reassure voters of their accuracy amid heavy-handed federal scrutiny of the state’s election administration.
“It’s a good thing to ask tough questions of your government,” Simon said at the Washington County Government Center. “That’s what we appreciate and value in America. So ask all the tough questions, but look at the answers that you’re given.”
The machine testing events, also known as public accuracy tests, are conducted across Minnesota in the weeks before any general, primary or special election. The tests are open to the public and observed by at least two election judges, including one from each party.
To test the accuracy of the equipment, election judges attempt to submit ballots that are folded, creased or mismarked — conditions that could lead to ballots being miscounted — to ensure the machines count votes correctly.
The public accuracy test is run “until all of the equipment has met the standard and performs with perfect accuracy,” Simon said.
Tests will be conducted throughout Minnesota up until three days before use, in compliance with state and federal law.
Simon isn’t just dealing with Minnesotans’ concerns about election integrity, however.
The U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to election officials in all 50 states on Tuesday threatening federal prosecution if noncitizens vote in the upcoming August and November elections.
Simon said that at least 10 states, if not all, received the letter, referring to it as an “unfortunate distraction.”
States have five days to respond to the DOJ with a plan to ensure noncitizens are unable to vote in elections, even though voter fraud cases involving non-citizen voting are virtually non-existent. There have only been 100 cases of non-citizen voting in 25 years, according to a database from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
The nonpartisan Office of the Legislative Auditor released a report on Wednesday of its evaluation of voter registration in Minnesota and found the Secretary of State’s Office has established appropriate procedures for counties. The auditors found counties correctly verified voter identity 99.9% of the time and correctly checked residency 99% of the time. The Secretary of State’s Office has also provided counties with up-to-date voter registration lists, though some counties did not adequately update their voter registration records, according to the report.
Minnesota is also currently being sued by the Department of Justice after refusing to hand over the state’s unredacted voter rolls, saying that doing so would violate state and federal laws protecting voter information.
There’s been a “real rupture” in the relationship between the federal government and the states over voter security, Simon said.
The rupture began with the advent of President Donald Trump’s second term after spending four years falsely arguing that the results of the 2020 election were fraudulent. Minnesota GOP gubernatorial candidate Mike Lindell accelerated those claims.
The federal government has traditionally been a partner in securing elections, especially from the threat of international manipulation.
“That help has all but vanished,” Simon said of federal government support, which began at the tail end of the Obama administration and continued through 2025.
As a result, Simon said that his office has reallocated up to $250,000 in response to federal funding losses related to election security.
Another key loss, Simon said, is a lack of intelligence briefings. Typically, Minnesota election officials would have had at least two intelligence briefings to prepare for the primary and general elections in August and November.
No intelligence briefings have been held or planned for this election cycle.
Trump’s efforts to exert more federal control over elections are ongoing, though a federal judge threw out an executive order over mail balloting last month, saying Trump overstepped his constitutional authority.
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